You and I Collide
by secretlifexxx
Summary: This is a Ricky/Amy story. Ben breaks up with her, and then Amy and Ricky get together and realize they like each other more than they ever thought they could. Their relationship continues to grow stronger, and they find a real meaning for everything.
1. Chapter 1

I rewrote the end of the first chapter and changed some about it, because it was out of character. But i'm still not changing the story too much.

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"I'm here." Ricky Underwood muttered, walking through my front door.

"Oh, hey Ricky. Thanks for coming over."

"It's no problem." He smiled.

"There's still left-over soup if you want any."

"It's okay, I've already eaten. Thank you though."

"Oh," I suddenly realized,"_Uh,_ John is in my room." Although he already most likely assumed that he was in there.

"Oh, okay." He said, walking into my room. I decided to go in there with him.

"So, you heard about my mom being pregnant.." I trailed off, not knowing what else to say as I racked my brain thinking of something to say.

"Yeah that's great. Isn't it?"

"I don't think so. She doesn't even know whose it is."

"Amy." I heard Ben say across my room. Ricky and I both,startled,turned to look at him.

"Oh, Ben. Hi."I said, somewhat frustrated at him.

"What is going on?" He asked.

"Nothing. What would be going on?" I raised my eyebrows, irritated at his jealousy.

"Amy, could we talk?" He asked me.

"Talk? Okay? Go ahead." I told him angrily.

"In private." Ben demanded, looking over at Ricky.

"Oh, I'm not listening if you need to talk." Ricky said.

Ben pulled me over to the other side of my room.

"Amy, I'm going to Italy this summer for vacation."

"The whole summer?"

"Yes." He said, not saying anything else. I was confused at his expression and how he was acting.

"Oh.." I said, so that he would say something- whatever he needed/wanted to say.

"It's going to be a while before we see each other again."

"Only a few months, Ben. Just until school starts again."

"Yes, but, Amy... I.. I understand that you are somewhat _interested _in Ricky and-"

"Ben! I am not!" I interrupted him, yelling.

"No, Amy. Let me finish. I know that you are. I know you like Ricky, whether you even know it or not. And I want you to take this summer to just think about it. Think about what you really want. I know that I'm always in your way and, Amy, you have a son with Ricky. So he is always going to hold a place in your heart that can't be broken. A space that I don't even have." He explained.

"You're breaking up with me." I realized.

Ben nodded. "I'll be here when I get back, and if you decide what you really want is _me_," He raised his eyebrow, "Then we'll just.. go from there.

"Oh." I said mostly to myself when I understood what he was talking about. "Ben, I just had a baby. I don't want to do that.. anytime soon."

"I know. And I'm not just breaking up with you because of that. I already explained why. I still love you, Amy. And I hope we can be friends. I think that I am doing what's best for you."

"Friends?" I laughed furiously, "I don't know about that. And how is this what's best for me? How could you do this to me, Ben?" I asked him. At first I was angry but then I was hurt and confused, but now I'm just frustrated. He wanted to be with me forever. He said he wanted to be there for my 16th birthday and my 60th. I don't know why he's changing his mind. "When are you going to Italy?" I finally asked.

"We are going to leave in a few days." He said.

I didn't say anything, tears were beginning to well up in my eyes, and I didn't know if I could keep my voice steady or not.

"Goodbye, Amy." He said, kissing me before leaving.

I walked back over to Ricky, who was near the bed holding John as he slept in his arms.

"Were you listening?" I asked him.

He hesitated at first, but then answered. "Yes."

"I guess I was expecting this. He's always been jealous of you."

"I don't know why."

"Me neither." I said, but I knew.

Ricky put John back in his crib and looked over at me. "When everything else is bad in our lives, at least we got him."

I smiled at him, and replied: "You're right."

Ricky smiled back at me. "I guess I should be going. It's getting pretty late.." He got half way out the door before I stopped him.

"Ricky, wait."

He waited.

I didn't understand what was wrong with me. I didn't want him to leave. There was a part of me that knew it was probably a bad idea for him to stay over, but then there was another part of me that _wanted_ him to. I couldn't understand my feelings right now, but I think Ben is making me realize that maybe I have more feelings about Ricky then I ever really knew.

"You don't have to leave."

Ricky turned around slowly and smirked, but then his face was serious. "I don't?"

"You want me to stay here?" He asked, shocked.

"Well you don't have to..If you don't want to." I said, feeling embarrassed.

"I do. I just didn't know if that'd be okay. Your mom doesn't mind?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, but it doesn't really matter.." I told him. He walked back over beside me and we both sat down on my bed.

"Okay." He said, looking into my eyes, searching for something, _anything_, that could give him any clue as to what I was thinking. He couldn't find anything so all he did was laugh.

My mom came in my room suddenly. "Oh. Hey, Ricky."

"Hi, Mrs. Juergens." He smiled.

"Mom, is it okay.. if Ricky stays here tonight?" I asked her.

"I don't know. I'm going out with David tonight.." She said, looking over at Ricky.

"This late?"

"Yes, this late, Amy!"

"Well, we will be fine here alone." I assured her.

"Okay, well bye." She said, leaving my room. I closed the door behind her and sat back down beside Ricky.

"So, why did you decide that you wanted me to sleep over?"

"Oh, I don't know. I just.. It's just, I, _uhmm_, It's nice to have someone to talk to.. you know?" I felt so stupid. Ricky probably thinks I'm an idiot.

"Yeah, I know. Especially you, Amy. Thank you for.. for being my friend after _everything_."

"It's not only your fault. It's both of ours."

"I know. But you were going to leave that night, remember? And I kept begging you to stay.. None of this woulda happened if I'd just let you go." He told me.

"That's true."

"Not saying that I'm not glad it happened." He added quickly.

"What?"

"I'm not the same guy that got you pregnant at band camp, Amy. And that's because of this. All of this. Because of you and John, I'm different now for the _better_."

"Yeah, you are." I said, brushing my hands through my hair.

"I'm sorry about Ben." He told me, trying to change the subject. "He's a wimp anyway, you don't need him."

"No, he's not," I argued with him, "But he gets on my last nerves.."

"Exactly. You don't need a guy like that."

Ricky smirked but then looked down at the floor when I didn't say anything. I couldn't think of anything to say, I didn't want to say something stupid. Ricky sat here for a while, and we didn't say anything for a while. Finally, he decided to break the silence.

"So you and Ben are officially over?" He asked. I then understood what he was trying to do.

"I- I don't know. I think he just wants to take time to think about things.."

"Didn't he tell you he wanted _you_ to think about things? And if I remember.. last time he told you _he_ needed space, he didn't even come back to you until Ashley went and talked him into it? And now he's breaking up with you because you don't wanna have sex with him? I think you deserve better. He's no good for you, Amy."

"That isn't why he broke up with me!" I shouted.

Although I knew it was true, I still didn't want to believe it. I knew that was the reason Ben was breaking up with me. He was terribly jealous of Ricky.

"Think what you want, but I bet it is."

"Why do you care anyway?" I snapped at him.

"Because I care about _you_. I don't want to see you hurt by some wimp who's desperate to have a girlfriend, desperate to feel loved by _someone_. You know it's true, Amy, but I can't force you to believe me. But deep down inside you know I'm right."

"You probably are right. I don't know." I told him, looking down at the floor but then finding myself looking blankly straight ahead at the wall. "Maybe Ben really doesn't care about me. Maybe he never did."

"If he cared about you, do you think he would keep putting you through all this pain? I mean you're already going through enough taking care of a baby and everything."

"I guess not." I simply replied.

"Amy, we're friends, so you can trust me right? Tell me what you're really thinking." He said after a few seconds.

I was afraid to tell him what I was really thinking, because if I did tell him then I would have to tell him that I know he is right. Ben is breaking up with me because of sex, and because he's jealous of him. I would also have to tell him that Ben has made me discover feelings for him, and I can't tell him that.

"I.. I can't." I told him, struggling to keep my voice steady.

"Oh, okay, I guess I understand.. If you can't trust me.. It's fine.. I wouldn't trust me either." He pretended to look disappointed, probably so that I would tell him.

"It's not that I can't trust you, exactly.. It's just _kind of_ embarrassing.. "

"Oh. Well, I won't laugh I promise." He assurred me. He kept a straight face that time, and I felt like I could trust him, but I still didn't know that I should tell him.

All of a sudden, John started screaming and crying like he was wanting me to just go ahead and tell him. Ricky walked back over to pick him up out of his bassinet.

"It's okay, John. Don't cry." He said, trying to calm him down.

Ricky was so good with John, a lot better than I was with him. I guess he should be, he's probably had more experience with babies than I have. I felt depressed as I remembered what Ben had said to me. I _do_ love him, and so what if I may have feelings for Ricky, that doesn't really change how I feel about Ben. Ricky may be right though, maybe he really doesn't care about me as much as he and I thought. Maybe I should just forget about him.

Ricky looked over at me after he got John to calm down."What's wrong?" I suddenly realized that I was crying, I hadn't even noticed it until now.

It was like I forgot how to talk. I knew what I wanted to say but I just couldn't get the words out. I finally managed to pull myself together so that I could answer him. "Ben."

Ricky nodded and put John back into his bed and walked over to me, and I stood up so that I could stand by him. "Don't worry. If he's even worth your time, then he will come around. But if he doesn't then he just isn't worth it, Amy. Like I said, you deserve better." He walked closer to me and hugged me, and I felt safe in his arms. I looked up at him and scrunched my eyebrows together after all the words had sunk in. "Not that I'm better.. but I wouldn't break up with you just because you wouldn't have sex with me and I was jealous."

"Y-You wouldn't?" I stuttered. "I think you would.."

"Well, I wouldn't. Don't worry about Ben, if he loves you then he won't leave. He'll come back. You have a lot to be happy for Amy, more than you even realize. You have John. You have your family. They all care about you. I care about you."

**Ricky's POV**

"Well, I wouldn't." I told her. And it was true, I wouldn't break up with her. If I were _ever_ lucky enough for her to like me back, then I wouldn't break up with her for anything. Of course though, she doesn't see me that way and she probably never will because of Ben."Don't worry about Ben, if he loves you then he won't leave. He'll come back. You have a lot to be happy for Amy, more than you even realize. You have John. You have your family. They all care about you. I care about you."

Maybe I should just tell her how I feel. To my surprise, maybe she will like me back. Or possibly she would hate me and she'd think I was just trying to get with her again. But, why would she hate me for being nice?"

"Amy, _I like you_, and I know you, and I know Ben isn't your type. But if you want, I guess I could talk to him for you." Although I really didn't want to. That is why I emphasized on 'I like you' so that she would pay attention to that and not about anything else I said.

**Amy's POV**

Did he just say that he _likes me_? I looked down at my feet so that I could hide my smile. I could not believe that I could actually smile at a time like this.

"How do you know _my type?_" I managed to ask him, still not making eye contact.

"There's a very good question.."

"Do you mean it?" I asked, not wanting to say anything else.

"Do I mean what?" He asked, but I had a feeling he knew what I was talking about.

"You like me?"

For the first time in a while, I looked up into his eyes and waited on an answer. He looked away for a second and looked down at the ground, but then he finally looked back up, like he had made up his mind what he was going to say. "Yeah, I do. I have for a long time. Now.. now since I told you, will you tell me what you didn't want to say earlier?"

I half smiled, but brushed my hands through my hair so I could try and hide it. "I was just going to say.. that.. _I like you too. _I have liked you for a long time, too. Even though I loved Ben, it was always in the back of my mind that I was somewhat interested in you."

I finally got up the courage to admit it to him. I actually felt better now that he knew. Ricky chuckled as if he felt the exact same way.

"Really? You do? Even after everything I put you through?" His face lit up a little bit.

"Yes." I told him, quietly.

I felt really happy now that I confessed to Ricky that I have feelings for him. I went to sit down on the bed and Ricky sat down beside me. I looked at the clock and it was 12. I wasn't really tired, but I probably should go to sleep since we have school in the morning, and I have to wake up early so that we'll have time to take John to daycare.

Ricky and I talked all night. First we talked about John and his daycare and work. Then we talked about him working at the butcher shop with Ben and he told me about Ben's lack of working skills. Then he asked me about my mom being pregnant and we talked about how hard it would be having two babies in the house. We talked all night, and we didn't fall asleep until four in the morning. But Ricky didn't sleep in the chair, he slept with me.


	2. Chapter 2

I rewrote Chapter 2 too. I'm not changing too much about this story. I know this _might_ be out of character, but If Amy and Ricky really did get together on the show, I think that they would both change a little.

This is written mainly in Amy's POV(Point of view) but some is written in Ricky's POV.

**________________________**

"Good morning." Ricky quietly and softly said as I woke up. He was standing a few feet away from me beside John's bassinet facing me, while he fed him. John looked safe and calm in his arms, as he always did.

"Good morning." I replied, without thinking much about what I was saying or what Ricky was saying, I was just waking up and everything was feeling like I was still asleep, and I was dreaming.

"So what do you want to do?" Ricky simply asked, his face was emotionless as he concentrated on John.

"I don't know. What are you talking about?" I asked, confused about what exaclty he was speaking of.

Ricky briefly laughed, only for a short second. He changed his facial expression immediently and was trying to be serious again. "I'm talking about us. Do you want to be with me, or are you going back to Ben?"

I should have known what he was talking about instead of making myself look like a fool. Of course that's what he was talking about. I braced myself so I could try and pay more attention to him. "I- I don't think Ben cares about me anymore, and I don't really care that much about him anymore either, so I'm probably better off with you.. But, what about Adrian?I'm sure you're still with Adrian. Aren't you?"

Ricky sighed and waited a few seconds before speaking. "Yeah, I am. But, I can break up with her." He smirked.

I shook my head. "No. I couldn't ask you to do that." Though I was frowning on the inside, because I wanted him to do that. I wanted to see how this would work out.

"Yeah, you could. I want to. Really, Amy. I'd rather be with you. Adrian will learn to understand. Besides, she probably likes her brother. She can get back with him."

I scrunched my eyebrows together in disbelief. "Her brother?"

He laughed and nodded. "Her step brother."

"Oh, I see. Okay, well I guess you should leave so you can get ready for school.."

"Yeah I guess so. I'll see you there." He said, smiling and slowly putting John back into his bassinet.

He looked over at me again, and smiled a different smile this time. It wasn't his usual smirk, but it was a real smile. He slowly walked closer to me. "Can I kiss you?"

I struggled to think of something to say. I couldn't speak, and I barely even knew what I should think, or if I should think _anything_. Maybe I should just let it happen and see how it turns out. All I could do is simply nod and smile a small smile. He stepped closer to me and put one hand gently around my neck and kissed me and pulled away soon after. "I really like you, Amy. I'll see you at school."

I still could not say anything. All I did was stand there smiling like an idiot. "Bye." He said, and then left.

I didn't know at first if these feelings were true or not, but now I'm sure. I think I'm falling in love with him. I couldn't explain how I was feeling to anyone, it was something that only I knew although I wasn't sure what it was or what the meaning of all this is yet. But then again, maybe it's too soon for me to think I'm falling inlove with him. As what seemed like only a few seconds later, Ricky came charging back into my room.

He looked at me in a way like he was concerned about something. "Amy, Ben is here. And he's mad."

"He's mad? Why? What does he want?!" I shouted, becoming instantly annoyed at Ben.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I was leaving but then I saw Ben, and I didn't want him to see me, so I came back in here. But then I think he saw me."

"Okay, well.. Hide in the closet!" I told him, not knowing what else he should do. I pushed him over to the closet and he did what I told him to. I looked over at Ben as he stopped in the doorway, but then walking in slowly with a scornful look on his face.

"I know he's here." He blurted out.

"Who?" I asked him innocently, pretending like I had no idea what he was talking about.

"Ricky. He's here. I saw him. You don't have to hide him wherever he is. I already knew you were interested in him, anyway."

"He isn't here, Ben. And if he was, it doesn't even matter because you broke up with me! So it's none of your business, so get out of my house!" I yelled. I was beyond furious at him. _Why would my mom let him in?_ She should have asked me first.

"I know it's none of my business. I just wanted to talk to you." His face was emotionless.

"Talk. But quickly, we need to leave soon."

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry if I hurt you. We've decided to stay here a little longer since I still have a few weeks of school left, but I wanted to come tell you that I will miss you and I hope you make the right decision with whatever you decide to do. I love you, Amy. And I will be waiting for you if you want to come back to me. But for right now I think it's best we break up."

"Okay. I know. You already came here to break up with me! I don't need you to come tell me this again! Now leave me alone!" I shouted even louder before.

I was fed up with Ben. I wanted him to just get out of my life. I'm not even so sure that I _want_ to _ever _be with him again. Ricky's a lot better than him, and he was right. I do deserve better than Ben. I need Ricky.

"Amy please stop yelling at me, okay! Go ahead and be with Ricky! I did tell you to think about it so if that's what you decide then I'm happy for you! I was just gonna come here to see if there was any chance that I still wanted to be with you! That _YOU_ still wanted to be with _ME!_ BUT I GUESS THERE ISN'T! Goodbye, Amy Juergens!" He yelled, slamming the door on his way out. Tears were pouring down my cheeks. I hated when Ben yelled at me. I didn't want him to be mad at me. But I don't think I could even be his friend anymore. Ben came back in soon after that and jumped like he was trying to startle me, looking around to see if Ricky was here.

"You might as well come out, Ricky!" He said, walking over to the closet and opening it, revealing Ricky standing there.

He quickly looked at him and then looked over at me, but back at Ricky. "I knew you were here the whole time."

"So? What do you care? You broke up with her." Ricky snapped back at him, and folded his arms.

"Yes, but only temporarily. And I don't care. No one said I cared." Ben said calmly, trying to even out his breathing so he wouldn't say anything stupid. "Okay. I will leave then. Bye Amy. I still love you and I am sorry for overreacting."

Ricky came out of the closet after Ben left and walked back over to me and tried to comfort me. "He's a wimp. He's just pretending to be tough, but he really isn't. Don't cry, Amy. Everything will be fine. I'm here for you."

"I know. Thank you, Ricky. I- I'll see you at school. _And I'll also see Ben at school, unfortunatly._" My voice cracked after every few words.

Ricky put his arms around me and hugged me. "I won't let Ben bother you. I'll see you soon." He released his grip around me and got ready to leave, looking back at me before walking out the door. I sighed and got John ready for school. My mom and I got ready and we dropped John off at daycare, then she dropped me off at school. I didn't see Ben today and I was happy, because he was avoiding me. I liked it better that way. Ricky broke up with Adrian when he saw her at school.

_"Adrian, I need to talk to you."_

_"About what?"_

_"I think it's best if we don't see each other anymore."_

_"Oh, I see. You're with Amy, aren't you?"_

_"I might be. That's none of your business. Just don't call me anymore, okay? I am NOT coming over there anymore. I mean that. I won't even answer my phone if you try."_

Those were their exact words. Ricky came over after I got home from work, and he stayed the night again. Two weeks passed and not much has changed. Ricky was still coming over every day, and we would talk until we'd fall asleep. Ben had already gone to Italy, I'm assuming, and he was completely out of my mind now. I didn't care about him at all anymore. Ricky and I were working out perfectly, and I was much happier. I feel closer to Ricky than I had even been with Ben, even though Ben and I were together around a year. Ricky and I have been together for two weeks and a half, but we have been through a lot together. But now that I think about it, Ben was falling inlove with me after our first date and he told me over the phone. Maybe.. just _maybe_ I love Ricky even _more_ than I had Ben, more than I ever planned to. If I ever even loved Ben. Judging by the way I feel about Ricky, I'm doubting that I ever truly loved Ben.

"Amy?" Ricky suddenly asked me. We were both sitting on my bed, and I was lost in my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked quickly, breaking myself apart from my own thoughts and back into reality.

"I was wondering if you and John wanted to come to my house," He paused, like he was thinking about something." My parents want to see him."

Had he meant now? I haven't ever been to Ricky's house before. And John needs to go over there some time, he needs to go to his dad's house. It was 8:30 at night right now, and it was a Saturday, and it was just beginning to get dark.

"Okay. Sure. But when? Now?" I asked.

"Well I just got off the phone with Margaret, and she said that we could bring him over now. And you and John can stay over there for the night. She has to leave though, she said she had to go somewhere. _Um,_ I don't know where though." Ricky was acting strange and his voice was uneven when he talked like he wasn't sure of what he was saying.

"Okay." I smiled. I wanted to go to his house. I could finally be completely alone with him, except that John would be with us. "I'll go ask my mom and see if it's okay."

"Alright." He smiled back at me.

I ran out into the living room where she was sitting on the couch. "Mom?"

"Yes, Amy?"

"Is it okay if I go over to Ricky's out with John? His mom wants to see him."

"Are you going to sleep over there?" She asked, calmly.

"If that's okay." I began. "Please?"

"Okay, but promise me you will be careful, Amy."She warned me, wanting to make sure I wouldn't do anything stupid.

"Okay, I will. _I love him_, Mom." I told her.

"You _love him?_" Her face lit up with shock, but she wasn't angry or even disappointed at me. She just looked like she was curious.

"Yes. I didn't plan on falling inlove with him, but I do. I- I don't know if he loves me, but I love him."

I looked right into her eyes when I said that. I wanted her to know I was telling the truth.

"Well, I guess that's a good thing. Just whatever you do, be careful, Amy, please?."

"Okay! Bye. I'm gonna get John ready and then we're gonna go." I said, running back to my room, but then stopping as soon as I came through the door, stopping right near the doorway.

"She said yes." I beamed.

"Great! Let's go." He told me happily, and he picked up John and his bassinet. It was raining outside, I didn't know that until we were outside because it was dark. We got in his car and drove to his house. He handed John to me and opened the door for us to go in.

There was no one here. It was a little dark in here, but Ricky turned on some of the lights.

"I thought you said your mom was gonna be here." I told him.

Ricky laughed, and he was very smug when he talked. "Sorry, I just made that up. I wanted you to come over here so we could be alone, and so John could come over here since he never has, but mostly so we could be alone. I told you that so your mom would let you."

"Oh." I laughed with him, and he pulled me into his room. It was a little dark in here too, they were turned down low. Ricky and I went to sit on his couch after I put John down so he could sleep in his bassinet.

"Sorry it's so dark. The lights aren't working right.."

"That's fine." I assurred him, "I- I don't mind."

**Ricky's POV**

Amy is perfect. She is everything I could ever want. I wanted to bring her here so I could tell her how I feel about her, even though it might be too soon, but I don't care. I held her closer to me and started to kiss her. She kissed me back but with more energy than I had. I finally had to pull away so that I could tell her. She looked hurt at first, but then waited for me to say something.

"I- I need to tell you something." I finally said. I was worried, but I still wanted to tell her this now.

"What?" She asked curiously.

I looked down, unsure of how to tell her. But I finally got the courage to look at her. I was not going to hold back anymore. I _need_ to tell her. I looked into her eyes and quietly said to her, "_I love you._"

**Amy's POV**

I was screaming inside, I was so happy. I didn't think that he loved me. I knew I loved him, but I didn't know if he did or not. I was not expecting this at all. I didn't think he brought me here to say that. I don't know why he couldn't have told me at my house. I was unsure of what to do. I wanted to tell him I loved him too, but for some reason it was so hard for me to do that. I gasped when I suddenly had a flashback of band camp when we were on the couch. I knew he wasn't trying to do that again. But to be honest, I think I might actually _want_ that to happen again.

"I love you too, Ricky." I said so quietly that it almost sounded like a whisper. Ricky pressed his lips to mine again and I kissed him forcibly, pushing him down on the couch and falling on top of him. I hadn't initially planned on having sex with him, but I really wanted to, even though I didn't have a condom. I began trying to take my clothes off, but Ricky pushed me away, stopping me.

"What are you doing?" He asked, shocked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" I said, pushing him back down.

"Amy, you know we can't do that again."

"Why not?" I asked, making out with him but each time he would push me away. "You said you loved me. I thought you took me here to do this?"

He scrunched his eyebrows together. "No, I didn't. I took you here because I wanted to be alone with you, but I wasn't gonna try to have sex with you."

"Please, Ricky?" I begged him.

"No, I can't." He refused again.

"Why?"

"Because we don't need that-" He said, pointing to John," to happen again."

"It won't." I said, trying to take my clothes off again, but once again I failed at succeeding.

"Amy," He said, pinning me down by only my wrists,"We've been together for two weeks."

"Three weeks." I corrected him, although it hasn't quite been 3 weeks. "But, we've known each other for a year, and we had a baby, so there's no reason not to do this."

"There is every reason in the world to not do it." He told me very firmly like he was upset.

"Name one reason." I told him, angrily. I didn't understand why he was rejecting me. He never cared about waiting before, I don't understand why it should matter to him now. It doesn't really matter to me anymore.

"Because it's irresponsible. I want to do the right thing here, and I think that it is _way_ too early to do this again."

"We haven't done this before. At least not the way I want to." I argued with him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked me, but didn't let me answer. "We can't do this now."

"We could if you wanted to. I know that I won't get pregnant again, so you don't have to worry about that." I told him, and then I sat back up so I could give him more space so that he could think about it.

"I know you won't get pregnant. I wouldn't dare let that happen again. But, how could you think I don't want to? I do. I'm just trying to be responsible."

"There's no reason to be responsible. I don't care about being responsible and you shouldn't either. No one has to know. So therefore, we are being responsible." I insisted, hoping that I had convinced him that time.

Ricky laughed. "Amy, you are much different than you were at band camp."

"And so are you." I replied. I said it fairly harsh, but I knew, and so did he, that it was true. He was a _lot_ different than he was when I knew him at band camp, but he was right also. I am different too. But only because he made me want to do this, and rejection is hard to take.

Ricky sat back up, also, beside me. "That's true. But I still can't do this. _Not now anyway_." He said.

"Ugh, fine. Later then?" I asked, hoping he would_ finally_ give in. I studied his eyes carefully and he locked eyes with me, not taking them off of me.

"I don't know. Maybe." He said, not sure at first but then looking as if he was considering it. He then lost the stare and looked away from me. His eyes wandered blankly down at the floor.

"Please?" I pressed on.

"Okay, _later_, but I don't know when." He gave in, but still not sounding like he thought it was a good idea. He braced himself up and looked back up at me, meeting my stare into his  
eyes.

"Do you promise?" I asked quietly. I wanted to make sure he was telling the truth. He was being very difficult, and I needed to know for sure that he meant exactly what he said.

He looked at me for a long time and his eyes wandered curiously and nervously around the room as if he was thinking about it very carefully. He finally smiled and then began to speak. "Yes. I promise."

"Thank you." I breathed, relieved that he finally gave in.

I hadn't noticed how exhausted I was until just now. I wanted to stay awake, but I couldn't. I fell asleep and I thought I heard Ricky say something before I fell asleep, but I can't remember what it was.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up feeling very exhausted that next morning when my phone rang in my pocket. The noise startled me at first, but I managed to pull myself together so I could answer my phone. I took it out of my pocket and looked at the caller id; it was my mom. I breathed deeply before answering and hesitated before pressing the talk button. "Hello?"

"Amy, you need to be home soon so you won't be late for school. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. And okay, I- I'll be home soon." I said, hanging up. I threw my phone down and it landed on the couch. I was surprised when I realized that we had fallen asleep on the couch. I hardly even remember falling asleep. I threw myself up from where I was lying on top of Ricky, and I sat up a little so I could face him.

"Was that your mom? What'd she say?" Ricky asked slowly, swinging himself up and pulling me along with him, as he figured out we had school today.

"She said I needed to be home soon so I wouldn't be late for school." I told him, looking at my phone to check the time. It was six thirty.

"What time is it?" He asked, after he noticed me looking at my phone.

"It's six thirty. I guess I should go now.." I didn't want to leave. I didn't even want to go to school today and have to see Ben. I knew that he was going to get jealous again after he sees Ricky and I together.

"Okay, I'll take you home." He pulled me by my waist and kissed me and didn't pull away until a while. He then went to pick up John and carried him in his bassinet. We both walked out the door and he drove me home. He went inside with me so he could bring John to my room and get him ready for daycare so I could get ready for school. My mom, my dad, and Ashley were all in the kitchen together. Ricky and I walked into the kitchen with John.

"What is going on..?" I asked. None of them said anything. I walked over to the counter and demanded that they tell me what was going on. "Tell me!" My dad ignored me and went to sit down at the table.

"You tell her, Mom! Tell her whose baby that is!" Ashley shouted. Her voice sounded angry and intense. She walked over to where my dad was sitting and fiercely put down divorce papers on the table and turned around to yell again. "It's David's!"

"Ashley-" My mom began.

"No. I think we should be leaving, Dad." She said, already leaving and not waiting on him to come with her.

"I don't know what is going on, but I think I should go get ready for school. Come on, Ricky.." I said as I walked into my room with him.

"So, I, _uhh_, was thinking about that promise you made last night.." I began, slightly embarrassed.

"Yeah?" He smirked, and raised his eyebrow when I didn't say anything. "What were you thinking?"

I then heard talking in the living room. My door slammed open, revealing Ben. "Amy, whatever you heard.. It- It isn't true, I swear to you that it isn't!" He said nervously. He looked terrified like he had done something wrong.

"_WHAT_ are you talking about?!" I shouted at him, frustrated at him for interrupting Ricky and me. "I didn't hear anything. Did I?"

Ben stood really still and didn't make any movement. He looked at me and Ricky and began to say something but stopped. "Did Alice not talk to you?"

"No..Ben, what is going on? What's wrong? Was she supposed to talk to me?" I asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

"She didn't say _anything_ to you?" He asked, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank _god_! Listen, Amy, if she happens to say anything to you at school today that happens to upset you, d`o not believe a word of it because I guarantee you that it is not true!"

"Whatever. I don't even care. Just go." I said, gesturing for him to leave.

"No, wait a minute." He looked at Ricky briefly. "Is he sleeping over here every night or something?"

"Does it look like we're sleeping, Ben?" I snapped at him, sitting down with Ricky on the bed.

"Don't.. don't talk to me like that. And not right now you aren't sleeping, but.." He suddenly realized what was going on as he studied us very closely. He scrunched his eyebrows together and began to speak as if he was disappointed.

"No! I can't _believe_ you would do this, Amy! You turn down me, but not Ricky? I was supposed to be the first one to-"

"Well you're not going to be. And you can't. I've already done that before." I told him, looking over at John.

"Well that didn't count." He said flatly, listening closely to every word he said.

"Oh really? It didn't count? I would say it counts if I now have a baby because of it!" I yelled at him. I was getting fed up with Ben and his jealousy. He broke up with me so I don't see why he cares. It bothered me that he kept trying to get in my business.

"Okay, let's just calm down. There's no need to get overworked here."

"Yes, Ben, there is! You can't keep intruding on everything all the time!" I shouted again, so loudly that I'm pretty sure my mom could hear every word we were saying. At this point, I honestly didn't care.

"Fine. Need I remind you again that whatever you may here today from Alice is _false! _Don't believe it okay? And Amy, please be careful." He warned me, leaving my room quickly after saying that. I heard Ben say something to my mom but I couldn't understand what. She came in soon after he left.

"Is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yep, what wouldn't be okay?" I asked her furiously. I just wanted everyone to leave me alone so I could be alone with Ricky. Was that too much to ask?

"Amy, I need to talk to you now." She demanded, gesturing for me to come with her. I looked over at Ricky apologetically, and I rolled my eyes at my mom. She saw, but she didn't seem to really care.

"Fine." I said, following her into the living room.

"What do you think you are doing? Are you crazy?" She quietly yelled at me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her innocently.

"You know what I'm talking about! Are you about to have sex with Ricky?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Ben told me!"

"And how would he know? Why would I tell him that?!"

"Amy! I heard you talking in there. I know exactly what is going on so stop trying to play dumb with me, because It is most _DEFINITELY_ not going to work on me right now!" I gasped and looked away from her and began to speak.

"You heard me and Ricky talking or you heard me and Ben talking?"

"You and Ben! Why?"

"I was just wondering." I told her, looking away again. "Mom, I don't have to tell you anything. This is none of your business."

"It is my business! You just had a baby! How could you think about doing something so _irresponsible?_"

"Just like you did." I pointed out, but then changing the subject. "Mom, I am not about to have sex with Ricky. That is ridiculous. I have school in an hour. Whatever Ben told you is a lie, okay? I'm not doing anything with him, or even _thinking_ about it." I lied." Like you said, I just had a baby. I'm not stupid, Mom, okay?"

"Right. You better be careful! You don't wanna make the same mistake again. I think seeing Ricky is having a negative effect on you." She stated, still unconvinced.

"No, he's not! I told you everything is fine! So just forget it okay! I don't want to talk about this anymore. Really, you can trust me. _Everything. Is. Fine._" I tried again to reassure her, but she didn't believe me. She was still unconvinced.

"Ricky could be using you, ya know? He could just be tricking you again so that he can get what he wants from you, and then he's just gonna leave."

"No, Mom! He isn't tricking me!"

"I _FORBID _you to do this, Amy! It's ridiculous. You're crazy! What is wrong with you?! Did Ricky talk you into this?"

"NO! AND NOTHING IS WRONG WITH ME! AND WE AREN'T EVEN DOING ANYTHING, OKAY! OR EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT!" I shouted, lying again, and I went back to my room and locked the door. I know that no one believes that I love him, but I do. I don't care if my mother thinks I'm crazy. I can't hide my feelings anymore; this is my life and she shouldn't be telling me what to do.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Ricky. I was crying.

"Yes." He answered.

"_I hate him. I hate Ben."_ I muttered to him, trying to get the words out. "My mom thinks you're gonna leave me once you get what you want from me. Is that true? Are you gonna leave?"

"No. This is exactly why I don't think we should do this. Amy, I am not going to leave you. We have been through too much for you to believe that. This time let's go through it together, okay? Please?"

"W-what are you talking about?" I studdered.

"Please just trust me. I will not leave you. And we shouldn't have to have sex for you to know that."

"I want to believe you. But, how do I know you won't? You left Adrian. You left Grace. And you've left all of your other girlfriends."

"Well you aren't all my other girlfriends, Amy. I love you and I am here for you always. I'm still not breaking my promise. We will find a way to make this work." He tightly hugged me, and now I knew that everything would be okay."Now let's go to school, okay?" He said, wiping my tears away.

I nodded and faked a smile. Ricky and I got John and went into the living room. My mom didn't say anything, and she drove Ricky and I to school, but she still didn't say anything in the car. We took John to daycare, and then she dropped us off at school. Thankfully, I didn't see Ben. I guess he was avoiding me, and I was happy because of that.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna see what Alice was supposed to tell me.." I told Ricky, before I walked off.

"Did you want to say something?" I asked her, walking up to her.

"Yeah, I was, but I don't think Ben would be too happy if I told you this, but.. He kind of _used_ you a little bit. He was looking for someone to have sex with, and then I pointed out you. But he fell inlove with you and said he didn't care about that anymore. But I guess he does.."

I pretended like I didn't care, although inside I was furious. How could Ben do that to me? Why would he do that? He said he loved me! My eyes wandered down to the floor as I hid my tears that I could feel coming. "Oh. I don't even care. You tell Ben that whatever chance we had of even being friends is over." I muttered under my breath, walking back over to Ricky. School went by very slowly, but finally dragged on. I felt like I was in a daze all day and couldn't concentrate. But that wasn't only because of Ben. Because of my mom. Because of everything. After school, I walked to my locker and Ricky came up as soon as he saw me.

"I'm sorry, Amy. About your mom. And.. _Ben_. I'm still gonna keep my promise. Everything will be okay. She doesn't have to know anything. I mean, if you still want to do this, of course." He said.

"I don't even care about Ben. And I do. And you're right. We don't need to tell her. It's none of her business." I told him, and pulled him by his arm so we could sit down on the floor and wait for my mom. She was late. Maybe she wasn't coming because she was mad at me, I don't know.

"I love you, Amy. I will never put you through what you had to go through last year again."

"No, don't make any more promises. Let's just.. let whatever happens _happen_." I told him. I wanted him to stop worrying. I knew that everything was going to turn out right and was going to happen for the best.

"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.

"Well, of course I don't want to have another baby, but I don't want you to promise me something like that. I know that I'm not going to get pregnant again."

"I'm lost. What exactly are we talking about?" He asked again, even more bewildered than he was before.

"Well, we already had one baby. And everything turned out okay.. it brought us together eventually. So just don't make any promises. Because whatever happens, is gonna happen for the best. I'm just saying that I don't want you to promise something like that, because I know I won't get pregnant again, unless that's what's meant to happen, but I'm still not saying I want another baby, because I _definitely don't._ "

"Good, because neither do I." He laughed, and I smiled at him. We both looked over at the door when we saw my mom come inside.

She looked surprised to see us sitting down on the floor, and I know we probably looked weird but I really didn't care. "Sorry I'm late. Are you ready?" She said it more as a statement than a question, really.

"Yeah." I answered her. She turned around and went back outside the door, thinking that I was coming behind her.

"I'm ready." Ricky whispered into my ear. I knew what he was talking about. He held out his hand, and I took it and then he led us out to the car. I didn't even ask my mom if Ricky could come with us, but she didn't say anything either. We got inside of the car and we were now are on way to pick up John from daycare. All of us got out of the car and went inside to go and get him, and then we drove to my house. Ricky squeezed my hand and looked into my eyes and smiled. I wouldn't let my mom break us apart. She is just gonna have to learn to accept it. So is my dad. And so is everyone who thinks we shouldn't be together. I _love _Ricky_._ And we belong together. And that's all that matters.


	4. Chapter 4

Ricky and I walked into my room and shut the door once we got home. I knew my mom was still mad at me, but I didn't really care. I listened closely as I heard her footsteps.  
"Amy, open the door." My mom demanded. I did not want to open the door. She was going to come in here and most likely make Ricky leave. I was not going to let her tell me what to do, I have a baby, so I am an adult. I should be able to do what I want because it's my decision. Ricky was sitting down on my bed and I was standing up listening to my mom.

"No," I said firmly, "You can't tell me what to do with my life!" I stopped and listened to myself and for the first time I actually heard how ridiculous I sounded. I was yelling at mom because she was trying to stop me from making a mistake, which I still do not believe to be a mistake.

"Just open the door, Amy!" She yelled at me again. I looked over at Ricky. He just shrugged his shoulders.

"I guess let her in." He said quietly, so that she couldn't hear him.

"Why should I? She's gonna make you leave." I whispered to him.

"She might not. Maybe she just wants to talk to you."

"I don't want to talk to her though." I looked down at the floor and watched as my tears rolled off my cheek.

"Amy, I hear you talking! Open this door!"

I was so frustrated at her, she doesn't even care about what I want. All she cares about is having a perfect, normal family. I just wanted to get out of here and go far away where my mom can't find me. I finally decided to walk closer to the door, and I contemplated opening it.

"Fine!" I yelled, and slung the door open, and I went back to sit beside Ricky, that way she might not yell at me since he would be with me.

My mom stood in the doorway and stared at Ricky and I.

"Ricky, maybe you should leave." She said finally.

"No!" I immediently shouted, not allowing him to leave.

I stood up from where I was sitting on the bed and grabbed Ricky's hand, pulling him up to stand beside me. I looked down at the floor, trying to hide all of my emotions that were flaring up inside me. I could feel Ricky staring at me, and not taking his eyes off of me, like he was wondering what I was going to say next. I finally decided that I had to do something, _anything_. I suddenly got the courage to look up from the floor, but I could not look at her.

I decided to say the first thing, though obvious, that was on my mind. "What do you want?"

"I _want_ to know what is going on!" She shouted at me, but to my surprise she was not angry. She sounded more like she was concerned rather than angry.

"Nothing is going on." I finally said, trying to lead her to believe me.

And to the most part, it was true. Nothing was going on right now, or at least nothing she should worry about.

"Really,"I continued,"Nothing is going on. You can trust me, Mom."

"Can I?" She asked, looking for an honest answer.

"Yeah." I told her.

She probably couldn't trust me, or shouldn't, because I was going to do what ever I wanted to in spite of what she said to me. I looked into her eyes, begging her to trust me. Ricky was looking straight ahead at the wall, in a daze.

"Fine. Whatever. Goodnight." She finally said, giving in, but still not trusting me.

I watched her carefully as she slowly left my room. I followed behind her so I could shut the door. I stood there at the doorway for a while when I got an idea, and it was most likely a bad idea, but I didn't care.

"Ricky?" I said, turning around at the doorway but not making any movement.

"Amy?" He answered me, wondering what was on my mind.

I looked into his eyes from across the room and smiled egotistically. "Let's run away."

"What?" His eyebrows scrunched together as he stared at me blankly.

"Let's go somewhere together." I told him again.

"Where?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of mine.

"_Anywhere_ but here."

"Where exactly?"

"I don't know," I replied, "A hotel. An apartment. A house. We could get our own place and live with John. We're practically adults."

"You must be kidding." He said blankly.

"No. I'm not. Please, Ricky, let's run away together. Let's _elope_."

"Elope?" He laughed, "Don't you have to be married to elope?"

"No, not necessarily."

Ricky looked as if he didn't know what to say or do. "You know we cannot get our own place and live together with John."

"Then let's just go to a hotel or something. Please? No one will have to know. My mom won't even know. She'll think we'll still be in here, and hopefully leave us alone, and then tomorrow she'll go to work, so she will never know. We'll call in sick, and everything will be fine. Please, I just want to be with you alone for once."

"Amy, I think you being with me has had a negative effect on you." He said, laughing, but I could tell he was being serious.

"I know. So what do you say?"

"I guess I say let's go."

"Really?" I asked him. I was surprised that I convinced him to runaway with me.

"Yeah, really. I'm tired of saying no to you. I'm just gonna trust my instinct and go along with what you want now."

I laughed. "Okay. Do you, by any chance, have any money for a hotel?"

"Yeah. I have a job, remember?" He chuckled.

"Oh, right." I laughed along with him, picking up John from his bed. "Come on, John. Let's leave."

Ricky held out his hand for me, and I took it. We went out through the window and he drove us to a hotel. It was about twenty miles away from my house; I was sure my mom wouldn't think of looking for us here. Ricky was getting us a room while I was trying to calm John down. He was crying, and I bet he wanted Ricky to hold him. I handed him to Ricky as we went to our room. It was very dark in our room, because half of the lights didn't work and the other half was already fading out. I set John down on the bed, and then Ricky and I laid down beside him, with him in between us, but so that we were still laying next to each other though, and we stared up at the white ceiling and didn't say anything for a while.

"Do you think that things between us are kind of.. _rushed?_" I forced myself to ask him.

He lost his gaze at the ceiling and changed it to look at me. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. I just.. I feel that I came on to you so quickly and you just kind of accepting it and- and you said you loved me. But, love usually doesn't just happen like this.. I made you give up everything for me-"

"What did I give up for you? As far as I'm concerned I didn't lose anything."

"Well, _Adrian_.."

"Amy, I told you I do not care about her. And just for the record I don't think anything between us is rushed."

"I know, I just- I wanna believe that this is _real_."

"_Real_? What do you mean?" Ricky asked, gazing into my eyes and I tried avoiding eye contact.

"I'm not sure. It's hard to explain. Everything is just happening so quickly and-"

"You want to take things slower?" He interrupted.

"No." I answered him firmly. "I just.. I- I want to know for sure that you really love me like you say you do."

"Amy, all the proof you have is here with you right now. We had a son together. And I'm here with you and our son. Do you think I would run off with you If I didn't love you? What could I ever do that would make you believe that I really do love you? I will do _anything_."

I could not believe myself. I was crying. I had everything that I could ever dream of wanting with me right now, and I'm crying. Ricky sat up and put his hand on my neck and tilted my head up so that I could meet his stare.

"What's wrong?" He finally asked me, still not taking his eyes off of mine.

"I don't know what to do." I broke down and fell into his arms crying my eyes out.

"Amy, calm down. It's okay. If Ben makes you happier then-"

"No!" I shouted at him. "He does _not_ make me happier."

Ricky scunched his eyebrows together and pleaded with me again."Please tell me why you are crying, then."

"Because I've realized that I _really_ really am inlove with you. This is all real. All this time all my feelings have been mixed up and confusing, but now I'm so sure of _everything_. You came here with me in spite of my mom and everyone. And you're just going along with whatever I tell you I want."

Ricky chuckled and fell back on the bed, pulling me down with him. I placed my hands on his chest and laid down on his shoulder, but still facing him.

"I always want to give you what you want, Amy, usually I want it too."

"I- I guess we should wait a while before.."I trailed off, not continuing my sentence.

"We can wait. Or we could do it now." He flashed me a small smirk, but then his face was serious.

"Not now. I don't think I want to have sex in a hotel.. that would be awkward."

"I agree." He said softly. I wanted to live this moment forever. It was so perfect. I have never been happier before than right now, in Ricky's arms. "Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?"

"Yes. I don't care about Ben anymore." I told him, and I finally knew it was true. "But I don't want to talk about Ben. Just you and me, okay?"

"You and me." He whispered back to me, smiling softly. "Sleep, Amy, it's late."

"No. I'm not tired. I want to stay awake. Okay?" I actually was exhausted, but I didn't want to sleep, I wanted to talk to him all night.

"Of course. If you want." He told me, very smoothly and calm.

I shifted my body slightly so that I could lay on top of him. I gently kissed him, and he put his hand on my waist and kissed me back more vigorous and energetically. I heard my phone vibrating in my pocket, so I had to pull away from him.

"Who is it?" He asked me.

"It's my mom. I'm not gonna answer." I told him, pressing my lips to his again.

Ricky pulled away after a while and wrapped me back into his arms. I was so tired, and I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. It was at least three in the morning. I couldn't bare it anymore, so I stopped fighting to stay awake and finally fell asleep. This was the first night I dreamed of Ricky.


	5. Chapter 5

Finally I wrote the 5th chapter, lol. PLEASE review. 5 reviews before I continue :D

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"Amy, wake up." Ricky awoke me, as he gently shook me. I groaned and rolled around on the other side of the bed to look at him. He was half way sitting up in the bed nervously, as I was lying on his chest.

"What?" I groggily asked him.

"Your mom called. She said she's on her way here right now." He said abruptly, speaking quietly as he gazed in my eyes. I promptly forced myself to sit up as Ricky put his hand on my arm and titled my chin up.

"It's okay. Relax. We'll go to school, Amy. Then we'll find a way to be alone."

"Did you tell her we were here?" I asked calmly.

"No. She called, and somehow she had found out." He said emotionless. I grumbled and threw myself off of the bed, feeling dizzy as I stood up.

"What are we going to do?" I asked, looking down at my bare feet as I attempted to not make eye contact with him. Ricky also stood up, but then froze where he was standing and sighed heavily.

"I don't know. I guess the only thing we can do is go to school."

I groaned loudly, still feeling tired, and fell back down onto the bed. "I don't want to go to school."

"Yeah, I know. I don't either. But at least we only have a few weeks left." He said, trying to cheer me up. He walked over to the other side of the bed and grabbed my hands, pulling me up to stand beside him. He lightly kissed me on the lips, as he put his hand around my waist. I kissed him back, but then pulled away.

"What's wrong, Amy?" He asked, confused.

I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling dizzy again. "Nothing. I- I'm just tired, I guess."

"You're okay?"

I finally opened my eyes, but my head started spinning worse than it had before. Ricky noticed almost immediently and put his hand on my forehead, and pulled away, bewildered, as he picked me up and put me back down on the bed.

"You're probably sick. You shouldn't go to school today." He sighed.

"Maybe.. Maybe you're right. I shouldn't go to school today." I said, not wanting to go to school.

Ricky started to climb over me so he could lie beside me, but my mom suddenly bursted through the door, glaring at us. Ricky was lying on top of me, and we were both frozen in shock.

"Amy!" She shouted, angrily and shocked.

"Mom, this is not what it looks like." I said, as Ricky got off of me and lied down on the other side of the bed.

"Oh really?" She asked, crossing her arms. "What were you thinking running away like this? You both are _crazy_. I can't _believe_ you!"

"Mom! Nothing happened, okay? And we had to run away. You don't trust me for some reason! I'm 15! I have a baby! I think I can make my own decisions." I complained, my tone just as harsh as hers had been.

"You can't make your own decisions just because you have a baby, Amy! Stop using that as your excuse for EVERYTHING. Both of you get up. Let's go." She demanded, sounding annoyed and frustrated as she walked off. We got up from the bed and followed her, but I stopped halfway and fell to the floor.

Ricky rushed over to me, my mom looking behind her. "Amy, what's wrong?"

"I- I don't know. I feel dizzy." I told him.

"Amy, are you okay?" My mom asked, also walking over to me. I nodded, and Ricky helped me up.

My heart was pounding loud in my chest and I felt weak. I concentrated on steadying my breathing as we slowly walked into the car and drove home. We got out of the car and walked inside. Ashley and my dad were both inside as we opened the door, and they immediently turned around. My dad was glaring at Ricky.

"What are you two doing over here?" I yelled at them.

"Borrowing your toaster!" My dad coughed back at me. Then he examined me slowly as he saw I looked different, and off.

"What's wrong, Ames?" He asked.

"Nothing. I just feel dizzy, that's all." I calmly said.

My mom folded her arms in discontent and said," They went to a hotel, George."

He made a choking sound and narrowed his eyes, and yelled, "What! Are you crazy, Amy? You and Ricky went to a hotel _alone _together? What were you thinking-" He scrunched his eyebrows together, looking confused. "Oh, no! You're not pregnant again are you?"

I rolled my eyes and talked through my teeth. "No, dad, I'm NOT! Would you all just leave me alone? Okay? YOU CAN'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! THIS IS MY LIFE! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M NOT PREGNANT AND I'M _NOT_ CRAZY!"

"Amy.. you _aren't_ pregnant, _are you_?" My mom asked.

"What is _wrong _with you! I just said _I'M NOT!" _I yelled.

I scowled, and I crossed my arms and looked between my mom, Dad, and Ashley, not saying anything else.

"Then why are you sick, Amy!"My mom shouted.

"Um, hello? Maybe because I'm tired! I've barely slept the past few months because of John keeping me awake! I don't know why you are all assuming I'm pregnant! I told you I'm not so just believe me! There is _no_ possible way I'm pregnant, because I haven't had sex. Okay!"

I felt tears welling up into my eyes. I stormed off and went into my room, slamming the door. I quickly put John in his bassinet and threw myself onto the bed, crying into the pillow. I didn't stop crying, not even when I heard the door open.

"Amy, It's okay." Ricky reassured me, slowly walking over to me. He sat down on the bed beside me as I still lied there crying.

"NO! It _isn't_." I exclaimed, "Everyone thinks I'm pregnant again!"

Ricky looked down at the bed, hiding his smirk. "You aren't, are you? Ben couldn't have gotten you pregnant?"

I sat up from the bed and grimaced, feeling the urge to slap him. "No! How could you _say_ that!"

"Amy, relax. I was just kidding." He laughed.

"Ha. Funny."I said sarcastically, falling into his arms. He held me tightly as I cried into his shoulder.

"Please don't cry. It's okay. Everything will be okay." He tried soothing me.

"No it won't. Everyone thinks we shouldn't be together." I pouted, pulling away so I could look at him.

"Well who cares what everyone says? They'll get over it. It doesn't matter what they think. The only thing that matters," He said, lightly touching my cheek," is that I love you. _No one_ can break us apart. I won't let that happen."

"I love you, too." I whispered.

He smiled and whispered back, "I know."

I nodded and said, half asleep,"Take me away, Ricky."

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do now. But you're almost unconscious, you don't know what you're saying." He said, laughing for a second but then he was serious again. I could have sworn that I saw him smirk, but I wasn't sure if I had imagined it or not.

"Are you sure?" He asked. There were a thousand more things I wanted to say to him, but I was too tired and didn't want to talk anymore. I thought about it for a long time, and then I answered,"Yes."

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I hope you liked this chapter =D I'll write more soon.


	6. Chapter 6

"Are you sure?" He asked. There were a thousand more things I wanted to say to him, but I was too tired and didn't want to talk anymore. I thought about it for a long time, and then I answered,"Yes."

I was about to take my clothes off, but then the door suddenly opened. Standing there was Ben. Ricky sighed loudly as he got off of me, and I rolled my eyes and looked over the door at Ben. He crossed his arms and stood there in the doorway, looking angry and shouted,"Amy!"

"_What_ are you doing here! I thought you were in Italy!" I yelled back at him.

"NO! I told you we had a few weeks of school left and I wasn't going until school was out! Do you not listen to me? Anyway, don't- don't try to change the subject! What are you doing!" He shouted at me, but then he calmed down and said," Your mom called me. She said you weren't listening to anyone else and I was the only one that could get you to listen."

"She _called_ you! Well I'm not listening to you! I don't know why she would think I would! I'm _definitely_ not listening to _you _or anyone."

"Amy, please don't do this. Look what happened last time. Maybe that's a sign that you're just going to feel bad about this. Don't do it." Ben said slowly, with saddness in his eyes.

"Amy, I need to talk to you." My mom insisted, walking into my room, as he gestured for me to come with her. I quietly groaned but then got up and followed her into the kitchen; my dad and Ashley were still here, standing in the kitchen with us.

"What do you _think_ you are doing? Why are you being so irresponsible, Amy!"

"I'm not being irresponsible!" I yelled, as tears started to fall down my cheek,"_I love him,_ Mom."

My dad and Ashley started to walk out the door, my dad turning around when he stood in the doorway. "I guess we should leave. See you later, Ames! Don't do anything you might regret later."

I rolled my eyes after he had shut the door. My mom was still standing there, her arms crossed angrily.

"I want you to go and get ready for school. We'll talk about this later." She said after I didn't say anything.

"I don't _want_ to talk about this later. And I don't want to go to school today." I whined.

"I don't care, Amy! You only have a couple of weeks left of school, you're going!"

"Fine." I grumbled, storming off into my room. I stopped and turned around, standing outside of the door, and I listened to Ricky and Ben fighting.

"You are going to ruin her life!" I heard Ben say.

"No. I'm not. And it's really known of your business anyway. So why do you keep coming over here?"

"Because Amy loves me, I know she does. And she knows she is supposed to be with _me_, and definitely not you. You're probably cheating on her anyway. She deserves better than you."

"I'm not cheating on her. Just get out of here, Ben. Don't come back."

"You can't tell me what to do!"

I suddenly walked back into my room and yelled at Ben, "Yes he can! GET OUT!"

"Okay, okay. You don't have to yell, I'm going." He said, walking out the door.

"My mom is making me go to school." I complained.

"She can't _make_ you." Ricky answered.

"Yeah, I guess she can't. But I might as well go. Even though I don't really feel like it."

Ricky nodded, and he stood up so he could take John out of his bassinet and get him ready for daycare while I took my time to get ready for school. I still felt bad and didn't think I should be going to school, but apparently my mom is too mad at me to care.

"I'll see you at school, Amy." Ricky muttered after he got John ready. "I love you."

"I love you too. Bye." I said back before he went out the door. I sighed and picked up John and we all got ready to go. We got into the car and took John to daycare, and then my mom dropped me off at school. She had barely said anything to me in the car. I walked into the building and gasped when I saw Ricky across the hallway standing by Adrian's locker. I furiously stomped past him to my locker, trying to fight back the tears.

**Ricky's POV**

"So do you want to come over tonight?" Adrian asked with a smirk, leaning against my locker. I ignored her and looked behind me and saw that Amy had just gotten here. "Hello?" Adrian yelled at me, annoyed.

I sighed and yelled back at her, "What?"

"Come over tonight." She demanded, slightly irritated.

"No, I'm not coming over there anymore. I thought I already made that clear to you." I said coldly.

,

"Oh, come on! You know you don't mean that. You're gonna be calling me in a few days.. you can't take it anymore. I know you, and _you need sex._"

I narrowed my eyes and smirked,"And what makes you think I'm not having sex with Amy?"

She laughed. "I don't think you are. Just come over tonight, okay? _You know you want to._"

"I don't know, Adrian. I might. I gotta go." I said, walking over to Amy.

**Amy's POV**

Ricky was walking over to me. I turned around angrily and folded my arms together when he came up to me.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

I rolled my eyes and said,"What do you think?"

He shrugged his shoulders and looked clueless. "I don't know. Could you tell me?"

I slammed my locker and yelled,"Why were you talking to Adrian?"

"She came up and started talking to me. It was nothing." He replied casually.

"Oh yeah?" I raised my eyebrows furiously,"What'd she say?"

He pursed his lips and restlessly looked away for a second. "She didn't say anything."

"I'm sure." I muttered.

"Why don't you believe me? She _didn't_ say anything."

I briefly looked down at the floor, but then looked back up as I rolled my eyes. I uncrossed my arms arms after the bell had rang and said as I started to walk off," _Okay_, well that's the bell. I guess I'll see you after school."

I stood there for a second and waited for him to say anything, but he just stood there silently. I walked away, and I barely turned my head to look behind me, and saw that Ricky was still standing there looking at me. I went to all of my classes, and I was so upset that I managed to completely ignore Ben. Ricky was standing against my locker, lifelessly and dolefully looking down at the floor. I slowly stalked over to my locker and put my books in there. Ricky looked at me from the corner of his eye, and I pursed my lips together and didn't say anything. I shut my locker, and finally I looked at him.

He smiled. "Amy, please don't be mad at me."

I folded my arms together and nervously looked around. "I am." And with that I walked off and went outside when I saw my mom had gotten here. I got in the car and she dropped me off for work. After work, I went home and made dinner for my mom, John, and me, and then I did my homework. After that I lied down in my bed and looked blankly up at the ceiling, collecting my thoughts together. Maybe I _did_ overreact; Ricky wouldn't cheat on me with Adrian. _Would he?_

**Ricky's POV**

"Hey, Ricky. I knew you were gonna call."

"Adrian, I'll be at your place in 10 minutes." I told her with a smirk and then hung up. The smirk soon turned into a frown. I didn't want to cheat on Amy, but her being mad at me has made me want to have sex with Adrian. I sat in my car for a while and pondered whether I should go or not, then I put the key in the ignition and drove off. Several times I wanted to drive back home, but I couldn't seem to do that for some reason. I parked outside of Adrian's condo and walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Hey Ricky." She said seductively.

"Hi Adrian." I said back to her before she pulled me inside.

"I knew you would change your mind." She began, "You always do." She smirked, and I looked down at the floor. I knew this was wrong. I thought I was completely over having sex with Adrian, but I guess I don't love Amy as much as I thought I did.

"Ricky, what's wrong? You're not thinking about Amy, are you?" She asked as she was frustrated.

"No," I lied. I _was_ thinking about Amy. Somehow, no matter what I'm doing, she is always on my mind.

"Sure." She said, not trusting me, as she pulled me over to the bed.

**Amy's POV**

"Mom, I'm sorry." I whispered quietly, walking into the living room to sit on the couch beside my mom.

She sighed. "Amy, it's okay. _I'm_ sorry for overreacting. I just don't think you should have sex with Ricky _again_. You haven't been with him long enough to know if he really does love you, and you're too young."

"Yeah," I began, taking deep breaths," I know I'm young, but I know he loves me. Or atleast.. he did." I frowned.

"_Did?_" She asked, scrunching her eyebrows together.

"Yeah. He was talking to Adrian today, and I got mad at him. Now he probably hates me."

"I doubt he hates you Amy." She argued. I ignored her and looked down at my phone; I had a text message.  
_I'm sleeping with your boyfriend tonight._

_-Adrian_

My heart stopped. I threw my phone down on the floor and yelled,"No!" I fell down on the floor and cried my eyes out.

"Amy! What's wrong?" My mom yelled, shocked.

"He- He's sleeping with Adrian!" I cried.

"Amy.." She said, trying to calm me down.

I hated Ricky. I hated Adrian. How could Ricky do this to me? He said he loved me! Why was he so obsessed with sex? Why does he have sex with Adrian and not me?

"Drive me to Adrian's house." I yelled.

"Amy-" She protested.

"Mom, please. Will you _please_ take me over there? I know it's late, and I know you're pregnant and tired and John would be here alone.. We can take him to Ashley and Dad. They can watch him. Please, Mom?" I cried.

"Okay, okay. Let's go."

**Ricky's POV**

"What are you doing?" I asked her, seeing that she was texting someone.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." She replied. She unbuttoned my shirt after she was in only her bra and jeans, and she took it off. I took off my pants, and when I was only wearing my boxers, she lied on top of me and started to make out with me.

I wanted to push her off. I wanted to walk out the door right now, but I still couldn't seem to do it. I so badly wanted this to be Amy. I wanted to tell Adrian that I hated her, and I never wanted to see her again, but that wasn't true.

Each time I have sex with her, I feel more guilty about it, but I want it just as much more. I needed this. I needed Adrian. I needed sex.

But I would so much rather have Amy. Even if that meant I didn't have sex with her for 5 years. I might not have known this before, but now I'm sure of it. I want to be with Amy forever, and I was not about to let Adrian get in the way of us. I didn't know it would be this hard, I just _can't_ stop thinking of Amy.

She started to take off her jeans, but I quickly pushed her off of me. "Ricky, what's wrong?"

"I just can't do this. I want to have sex with you, but-"

"Ricky, how could you!" I heard a voice yell from across the room. It was Amy. Amy and her mom were here.

"You didn't lock the door?" I whispered to Adrian. She shrugged.

I stood up immediently and ran over to Amy. "Amy! I-"

"I can't believe you would do this to me!" She interrupted me.

I put my hand on her arm, but she yanked it off. "Don't touch me!"

"Amy.. I'm sorry. I-"

"I don't forgive you. I knew you haven't changed. People like you _never _change." She said. I flinched when she said that, although I know I deserved it.

Adrian rolled her eyes and got out of the bed and put on her robe. She stood a few feet behind me and crossed her arms, watching me in disgust. Amy's mom stood behind her, and didn't say anything. She probably didn't know _what_ to say.

"I have changed. I love you. I wasn't going to-"

"Shut up." She said quietly, with tears running down her cheeks.

I tried to hug her, but she pushed me away. "Amy-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" She shouted angrily. I tried again to put my hands around her waist, but she shoved me away from her again.

"I _want_ to touch you." I said quietly.

"Obviously not."

"Forgive me, Amy. I'm sorry. Please? I need you." I begged her. I don't think she was forgiving me because she rolled her eyes.

"You don't need me. You need sex. That's all you _really_ care about." She argued.

"No. All I care about is you. You and John are the most important people to me. If all I cared about was sex, then I would have already had sex with you by now; when you first wanted to."

"Then why are you at _Adrian's_ house?" She asked quietly, trying to avoid eye contact.

Adrian angrily walked over and stood beside me and yelled at Amy,"Because he wants me, not you! That's why he turned you down!"

"Adrian, stay out of this," I snapped at her. "Amy, please don't be mad at me. I _didn't_ have sex with her."

"Yeah, right."She muttered, not believing me."You would have if I hadn't showed up here."

I gently held her hand, and she finally didn't push me away. "No, I probably wouldn't. I'm so, _so_ sorry. I will do anything for you if you'll just forgive me. You were right, Amy. Maybe I haven't changed. Maybe I'm still the same guy. But one thing has changed since then, and that's that I love you. I _promise_, I'll never hurt you again."

"I- I want to talk to you alone." She stuttered.

"Okay," I said sincerely, looking at Adrian her mom. Adrian rolled her eyes and went with Amy's mom to the living room.

I pulled Amy over to the end of the bed and sat down beside her and said, "I'm sorry."

"Are you?" She asked.

"Yes, I am. I _really_ am. I admit it; I'm obsessed with sex. But I _didn't_ have sex with Adrian tonight, okay? I swear to you, I didn't." I put my hand on her shoulder and looked her straight in her eyes, so she could see I was telling the truth.

She took a deep breath and said, "Fine. I forgive you, but I'm still mad at you."

I smiled and put my arms around her, and I pulled her into my arms to hug her. She put her head on my chest and I kissed her. "I love you." I told her. She simply nodded as she kissed me back. It hurt me to see the tears in her eyes.

I pulled her up off the bed and said,"Come on. Let's go to your house."


	7. Chapter 7

Here's chapter 7. I want 10 reviews for this before I write the next chapter.

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"Ricky, I think you should go back to your house." My mom told him as we all three stood outside of Adrian's condo.

"I think so, too." He replied politely. I frowned. My mom got in the car and waited for me.

Ricky walked over to me and said quietly, "I'll be there soon," and he kissed me. I nodded and got in the car with my mom. We waited for Ricky to drive off before we did.

"So, is everything alright.. between you two?" My mom asked.

"I guess so." I answered her nervously.

"I really don't think you should be with him. He _cheated_ on you."

"No he didn't." I said firmly.

"Well, he was going to. That still counts as cheating. You were better off being with Ben."

"No, I am not better off with Ben. I don't love Ben. I love _Ricky_. And he _didn't_ cheat on me, so that's all that matters." Although I was still very upset with Ricky, I couldn't deny that I loved him.

We didn't say much more after that. It took us around 5 minutes to get home. We pulled in the driveway, and walked out into the dark night. There was a thunderstorm, and it was also pouring down rain. I walked inside and saw Ashley and my dad in the kitchen with John.

"Hey Ames." My dad greeted me as I walked through the door.

I smiled a small smile and said,"You can leave now if you want."

I didn't wait for him to answer. I took John and carried him into my room with me and shut the door. I put him in his bassinet, and then I laid down on my bed. I heard something at the window, so I got up and saw Ricky. I opened it for him, and he came in.

"I told you I'd be here." He smiled. I didn't say anything, so he continued, "Are you still mad at me?"

I sat back down on the bed and nodded. "Of course I am."

"Yeah," he said, sitting down beside me,"I figured you were. What can I do so you won't be mad at me?"

"I don't know. Nothing right now." I answered.

He put his hand on mine and said," I really am sorry."

I couldn't say anything. All I could think of was when I saw him with her and how terrible I felt. At least he didn't sleep with her, but I bet he would have if I hadn't come. Finally, I found my voice, but all I could say was,"I know you are."

"So, where was John while you were over at Adrian's house?" Ricky asked.

"My dad and Ashley watched him." I answered.

"And how did you find out about..you know..?"

I sighed. "Adrian texted me."

"I thought so." He replied, playing with my hair. "You're so beautiful, Amy. I love you."

"I love you too." I smiled, struggling to keep my eyes open. I didn't realize how tired I was until just now.

He smiled back at me and gently picked me up and laid me down on the other side of the bed, and we both laid under the covers. I didn't really want to go to sleep, although I was tired.

Ricky put his hand around my waist as he kissed me, then he pulled away and said, "We're finally completely alone."

I laughed and answered,"Well, not completely. John is in here with us, and my mom is in the living room."

"Oh right, I forgot." He said playfully, smirking.

I laughed and kissed him again. I didn't know why I was so happy right now, especially because of what happened earlier. I guess it's because I'm finally alone with Ricky, and at this moment, I really know that he truly loves me.

Ricky kissed me again, and he started to take his shirt off, but I slapped him. He narrowed his eyes as I pursed my lips together.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked, confused.

"I'm still mad at you." I replied coldly. I spoke quietly incase my mom could hear us.

Ricky simply nodded and sighed quietly. He didn't say anything else as he looked blankly up at the ceiling.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

He looked at me from the corner of his eye and shook his head and said, "Don't be."

We lay there for a while and didn't say anything. I listened to the rain as it poured loudly and the thunder. The dark room lit up every few minutes or so every time the lightning would strike. Ricky breathed out loudly and turned over to hold me as he whispered, "Please talk to me, Amy."

"I don't want to talk." I whispered back to him.

He smiled smugly. "Then what do you want to do?" I knew what _he_ wanted to do, but I was too tired and upset with him, although I didn't really feel like going to sleep either.

"I want to just lay here."

He sighed again. "Are you ever going to forgive me?"

I breathed loudly and sat up. "I guess I already have forgiven you. I'm not really mad at you, I guess I just.. can't believe you went over there. And the worst part is, if I hadn't showed up, I know you probably would have slept with her. And you never would have told me."

He sat up beside me. "No, I wasn't gonna sleep with her. I couldn't stop thinking about you, and I knew it was wrong, so I was going to leave. But then you showed up. I'm sorry, Amy. It's just a habit.. going over there.. I guess."

"More like an addiction." I muttered.

"Yeah," he admitted, "I know. I'm sorry. I _promise_, I'll never go over there again." I stared into his eyes for a long time, and I could see that he was being honest.

**Ben's POV**

I picked up my phone and stared at the picture of Amy for a long time. I missed her, breaking up with her was the worst mistake I have ever made in my life, because now she's with Ricky and it's all my fault. I nervously punched a number into the phone, and it rang three times.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hey, can I come over?"

"I don't know. It's kind of late."

"Yeah, I know. Is that okay?"

"Fine. I guess."

"Okay. I just need someone to talk to. I'll be over there in fifteen minutes. Bye Adrian." I hung up the phone.

I suddenly felt bad for calling Adrian, and I knew it was a stupid thing to do, but maybe she could help me make Amy jealous. Then Amy would realize she was supposed to be with me. I'm sure Adrian could make Ricky leave Amy alone. He's probably still seeing her anyway.

My driver drove me to Adrian's condo. I got out of the car, and I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.

"Come in," she said.

I hesitatingly opened the door and slowly walked inside. Adrian was standing there in her robe. "Hey Ben." she said seductively as she smirked. I scowled because she looked exactly like Ricky when she did that.

"Hi Adrian." I said nervously.

"So what'd you want?" She asked me alluringly and laughed. "Not like I don't already know."

"Well actually," I began, apprehensively taking a deep breath, "I was wondering if maybe you could.. help me make Amy jealous so that maybe she would come back to me. And Ricky will come back to you.. unless you're still seeing him. I figured you were. Ricky doesn't seem like the kind of guy who believes in commitment.."

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips together and muttered, "Well obviously Ricky believes in commitment now. He's _inlove_ with her, I know he is. I got him to come over here earlier.. but he wouldn't have sex with me." She looked down at the floor, but then looked back up and smirked. "So, how exactly were you thinking we could make them jealous?"

"Well-" I paused as I nervously looked down, trying to hide my face.

She chuckled and said, "Oh I know what you want."

"Well _that_,but also I was thinking that maybe we could _pretend_ to be a couple. I am willing to do whatever it takes to get Amy back. I think this might be the only way." I finally looked back up at her. "So is it a plan?"

She smirked and nodded as she said, "It's a plan."

**Amy's POV**

"I trust you," I told him after he promised to never go back over to see Adrian again. He smiled as he leaned in to kiss me, but I pushed him away as my phone vibrated. "_Ugh_, sorry,someone's calling." I sat up on the bed and looked at the caller ID. "It's Ben."

"Are you gonna answer?" He asked.

"I- I guess." I stuttered.

I took in a deep breath before I answered my phone. "Hello?"

"Amy?" He asked.

"Yes? Who else would it be?" I snapped at him and rolled my eyes, looking over at Ricky as he chuckled.

"I knew it was you. I just, uh-" He stopped, and I heard someone say something in the background, then he suddenly said, "What are you doing?"

"What's it to you?" I asked him. I waited for him to respond, but he didn't say anything. I sighed loudly and said, "I'm with Ricky. You woke me up," I lied. Ricky stared at me with a confused look on his face.

I heard talking in the background again before Ben spoke, "Oh, you're with Ricky? Well I'm with Adrian."

I gasped in horror, I couldn't believe _he_ was with Adrian. Ricky scrunched his eyebrows together and I just shook my head and said sharply into the phone, "I don't care."

"You don't?" He asked.

"No, I don't. Why did you call me? Just to tell me _that_? You must want something, Ben, so go ahead and tell me. I'm waiting." I was annoyed. Every time I was finally alone with Ricky, Ben had to get in the way of everything.

"Look, Amy, Adrian and I are coming over there right now." He said. I heard her yell at him in the background.

"What? No you aren't! It's two in the morning!"

"I don't care!" He yelled at me, "I _need_ to see you right now, and we need to talk this through! Adrian, Ricky, You, and I need to talk about this because we're all with the wrong people here! You belong with _me_, Amy, why can't you see that?"

"Because it's not true," I said loudly. "You can't always get everything you want. And you broke up with me! So why don't you just leave me alone? I'm with Ricky, stop trying to break us up!"

"But I love you. Please, _please_ come back to me. I'm sorry I broke up with you. That was a terrible mistake, and I will regret it every day that you are not with me."

"Well, I guess you're just going to have to regret every day for the rest of your life, because I will _never_ come back to you." I said coldly.

"Please," he said quietly into the phone,"Let us come over there and work this out."

I laid back on the bed and said,"No. There is _nothing_ to work out. Bye." I hung up the phone and threw it at the end of the bed, but it landed on the floor. I put my head on Ricky's chest as he stroked my hair.

"So, what'd he say?" Ricky asked.

"He's with Adrian, and he wanted to come over here with her so would could 'work' this out, but there's nothing to work out. Apparently he wants to get back together with me." I quietly told him.

"Why is he with Adrian?" Ricky asked angrily.

"I don't know," I said, more as a question than a statement. But then I nervously looked away from him, taking deep breaths before I spoke. Then I finally got the courage to say what I wanted to say. I closed my eyes and whispered, "You still care about her, don't you?"

"What?" He asked. I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me curiously. I knew he heard me.

"You still care about her, _don't you_?" I said louder, my voice harsh and tense.

Ricky sighed loudly and nervously, but still he didn't take his eyes off of mine. His voice sounded uneven as he spoke. "No I don't care about her. Please believe me. You are the only one I will ever love." I looked into his eyes and I saw honesty and truth in them.

"It's so good to hear you say that." I said. I was smiling, but there were also tears in my eyes. Ricky pulled me closer to him and wiped my tears away. "I guess Ben was trying to make me jealous. But.. it didn't work." I smiled brighter.

Ricky smirked and said, "Well, let's give _him_ somethin' to be jealous about."

I smiled back at him. "Okay."

Ricky carefully placed me on top of him and began to kiss me for a while, but then I pulled away, suddenly remembering the door was unlocked. "Lock the door." He nodded and smiled as he got up from the bed and walked over to lock the door. He laid back down on the bed beside me and continued to kiss me. I looked down at my phone which was vibrating, and I sighed. "_Ugh!_ I'm sorry, hold on."

"Who is it this time?" He frustratingly asked.

"It's Adrian. I guess I'll answer it. She probably won't leave me alone until I do." I said. I answered the phone, but I didn't say anything. I waited for her to say something first, becuase she was the one who called. She obviously had a lot to say.

"Hello? Amy?" She asked.

"What do you want?" I said rudely.

"I know you're with him. Why don't you just leave him alone?" She yelled at me over the phone. I heard Ben saying something in the background.

"Who?"

"You know who. Ricky. You're with him right now, I know you are. Ben told me, because he's here with me _right_ now. Just stay away from him okay? _Do not _sleep with him! He doesn't care about you, Amy, he cares about _me_! You are supposed to be with Ben, and I'm supposed to be with Ricky!"

"Ben already told me all of this. I am NOT supposed to be with him. I am _supposed_ to be with whoever I want to, and I want to be with Ricky. I will sleep with him if I want to. It's none of your business. Stop calling me!"

"Fine. You can have him, I don't care. I'm interested in Ben, anyway. I think I'll have sex with him. You tell Ricky that. He'll be jealous, I know he will." And with that, she hung up the phone. I breathed heavily and threw the phone down on the bed. I wasn't jealous, but it bothered me that she was going to sleep with him.

"Well?" Ricky asked. "What'd she want?"

"She's.. gonna sleep with Ben." I said. It surprised me how much I had to struggle to get the words out right.

Ricky laughed smugly. "I doubt it."

"No, she is. I know she is. She sounded serious." I said slowly.

"Adrian's never serious."

"Well, I don't really care anyway. They think they're going to make us jealous, but I'm _not_ jealous. I could care less."

"Good." He said, "I don't care either. Forget about them, okay? The only thing that matters right now is you and me. Turn your phone off, I don't want any more interruptions." I nodded and picked up my phone and turned it off, then I quickly tossed it on the floor.

"I love you, Ricky." I whispered.

"I love you too. _Always_." He whispered back to me and leaned over to kiss me as he put me back on top of him. "Are you _sure _you want to do this? We could wait."

"No, I'm sure." I smiled. I couldn't believe that this was _finally_ happening.


	8. Chapter 8

I opened my eyes as I woke up, and I didn't see Ricky beside me. I rolled over on the bed and picked up the alarm clock from the table to look at the time, and it was only 5:00. I was surprised John didn't wake up crying. I struggled as I swung my legs over the bed. I felt tired, and my legs were shaking. Finally, I managed to stand up on my feet. I put the rest of my clothes back on before I yelled, "Ricky?"

"In here." He answered me from the bathroom. I walked in there with him and stood under the doorway. He was standing over the sink, appearing nervous.

I stood there for a while and just stared at him. I wasn't able to say anything, for I was scared of why he looked the way he did. I took a deep breath, and finally I found my voice and asked, "What's wrong?"

He sighed and hesitated before he spoke, "Nothing." But I knew he was just saying that, I could tell something was wrong. I walked closer to him and scrunched my eyebrows together as I thought about what possibly could have happened.

"I know something is wrong. Tell me." I demanded impatiently as I nervously ran my fingers through my hair. I leaned against the door and waited for him to tell me.

He sighed. "Well.. there's been a _slight_ problem."

He looked away from me again as I continued to watch him carefully, and I waited for him to meet my stare. He looked over at me and I apprehensively asked, "What kind of problem?" My heart started racing and my breathing was becoming uneven. I held my breath while I awaited a reponse.

He shook his head upsettingly and replied quietly, "The condom broke."

"No.." I whispered, not wanting to believe it. My legs and whole body suddenly became feeble, and I fell down to the floor on my knees.

"I- I'm so sorry, Amy." He stuttered.

"What am I gonna do?" I said, staring at my shoes. "If I get pregnant again.. I- I don't know what I'd do.."

"Me neither." He said in a low voice.

John suddenly started crying and yelling. I sighed, and Ricky walked over to him to see if he was hungry, and of course he was. He fed him while I still sat down on my knees on the floor, and I stared at a crack in the wall, not wanting to look at anything else.

I heard a knock at the door. "Amy?" My mom asked.

I immediently stood up and walked quickly over to Ricky and whispered, "Hide!" He hurried to put John back in his bassinet and went to hide in the closet. I took a deep breath and slowly unlocked and opened the door.

"Hi, Mom." I said nonchalantly to her.

"Hi Amy.. Is everything okay?" I nodded, but then she looked around the room and examined it for a long time looking suspicious. She turned around to face me again and asked, "Ricky isn't in here, is he?"

"What makes you think that?" I asked as I nervously and restlessly put my hands behind my back.

"I don't know. It just looks like you're trying to hide something from me." She said. She pondered it for a while, and I knew she had a good idea of what was going on. "Why was the door locked?"

"_Because_.. Can't I lock the door without you thinking something is going on? And what are you doing up at five in the morning?"

She grimaced and yelled, "I'll ask the questions, Amy! What are _you_ doing up at five in the morning? John hasn't even been crying, and you've been complaining about not being able to sleep. What is going on with you?"

"I just _woke up_. Yes, John han't been crying, I know that. Everything is fine though, so you have nothing to worry about, really." I half smiled innocently. I knew she wasn't going to fall for it, she wasn't that naive. She walked around the room and stopped once she reached the closet and opened the door and stared at Ricky who was standing there.

"So, did Ricky sneak in here or did you just lie?" She asked me angrily.

I looked down at the floor and didn't say anything. Ricky pressed his lips together and also looked blankly down at the floor, avoiding any eye contact.

"I thought so." My mom grumbled.

"Everything's fine. He's just here to see John." I lied.

"Then why was he hiding?"

I sighed. "Maybe because you _never_ trust me!"

She rolled her eyes. "Why would I trust you? Why would I trust you when you're sneaking Ricky around here and he's hiding in closets? Why would I trust _you_, Ricky, when you were over at Adrian's house the other day?"

Ricky shrugged his shoulders and still didn't say anything. I took a deep breath to steady my breathing and said, "You should be able to trust your own daughter!"

"I _should_ be able to, but it's kind of hard to right now! _Whatever_! Just- get ready for school or something. Ricky, I don't want you coming over here at night anymore." She said. She angrily stomped out of my room and shut the door behind her.

I let out a sigh of frustration and sat down at the end of the bed. I couldn't believe that I let this happen. Everything was _perfect_, but for some reason the condom had to break. Now I'm going to get pregnant again, I just know I am. And my mom is going to hate me, and so will everyone else. Except _one_ person.

"Ricky, I'm really scared." I told him quietly. He sat down beside me and put his arms around me.

"Me too." He said quietly with fear and anxiousness in his eyes. "I'm so sorry. Maybe you won't be.. pregnant.._ again._" His voice was unsteady, and he sounded like he was also really worried.

"Yeah, but maybe I will." I muttered.

"Do you want to skip school today?" He asked emotionless. I had _never_ seen him look that way before. There was absolutely no expression in his face whatsoever, it was completely blank.

"I _want_ to skip school. Believe me, I do." I sighed. "But we only have a week left, so we might as well go. Although I really don't want to have to face Ben and Adrian, but we really don't have a choice."

"We always have a choice." He grumbled.

I nodded and pressed my lips tightly together and didn't say anything. I was at a loss for words, and I couldn't seem to make myself speak. Ricky stared blankly straight ahead at the wall.

"Are you mad at me?" I asked.

"No. Why would I be mad at _you_? You didn't do anything." He answered quickly. He stood up from the bed and started walking toward the door and stopped in the doorway. "I'll see you at school."

"You don't have to go now." I told him.

"I need to. I'll see you soon." I sighed once he shut the door. I wanted to run after him and beg him to stay. I felt like I could cry. Ricky was acting like he was upset with me, although he wouldn't admit it, but I knew he was.

I sat alone in my room a while until it was time to go to school. My mom and I took John to daycare like we did _every _day, and then she dropped me off at school. There were only a few people in the hallway. I looked around and saw Ricky at his locker, but I ignored him and went over to my locker to put my stuff up.

I loudly shut my locker and looked around to see if Madison or Lauren were here, but I didn't see them. They've been avoiding me every since Ricky and I have been together. Ricky finally looked my way with a blank expression on his face and started walking towards me.

"Hi." He said. I half smiled, but I didn't say anything. He grabbed my hand and pulled me into a hug.

Two weeks have gone by, and I still haven't had the chance to take a pregnancy test yet. I had a feeling that I was pregnant, because I was sick and had a headache, and I also felt really tired, although I was already tired.

"Amy, are you okay?" My mom asked as she walked in the living room and saw me sitting on the couch.

"I feel terrible." I replied.

"I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?" She asked.

I looked down at my shoes and felt the tears run down my cheek. My heart was pounding in my chest. I took a deep breath, and finally I got the courage to speak, but I could only whisper, and my voice cracked. "Get me a pregnancy test."


	9. Chapter 9

I'm sorry it took so long for me to write the next chapter lol! Hopefully you like this. I'll write the next chapter after I get some reviews, review and also give me some ideas of what to write about in the next chapter! :D  
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I looked down at my shoes and felt the tears run down my cheek. My heart was pounding in my chest. I took a deep breath, and finally I got the courage to speak, but I could only whisper, and my voice cracked. "Get me a pregnancy test."

She widened her eyes and angrily shook her head. "How could you let this happen _again_?"

I hid my face as tears started pouring down my cheeks and I stammered, "I- I don't know. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Oh, really? You didn't mean to have sex?" She shouted, "I can't believe you would do this again!"

"I'm sorry Mom, I really am." I cried.

"I bet you are." She muttered and left the room.

I sighed loudly as the tears continued to fall. I picked up my phone and dialed Ricky's number. It rang twice before he picked up. "Hello?" My heart stopped. I panicked and quickly drew in a deep breath.

"Ricky?" I said quietly. I tried to keep my voice as steady as I could so he wouldn't know I was upset.

"Yeah? Is everything okay?" He asked. He probably thought something was wrong because I was calling at one in the morning.

"I don't know." My voice cracked. "I think I'm pregnant."

I heard him sigh on the phone and there was a long pause before he said anything, and when he spoke he sounded angry. "Why do you think that?"

"Because I feel terrible, and- and I just have a feeling that I am."

"You want me to come over there?"

"Will you?" I asked hopefully.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

I smiled. I hung up the phone and set it down on the couch. Then I hugged my knees into my chest and cried into them as I rocked myself back and forth for a while. I wanted to scream out loud and break something. I was _so_ angry at myself for letting this happen. I didn't know what I would do if I got pregnant again.

I heard the door quietly shut in the kitchen. I forced myself to look up and see what it was. Ricky was standing there motionless as he looked shocked and nervous. I pursed my lips tightly together and nervously ran my fingers through my hair. Ricky and I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch.

He quietly sighed as he looked straight down at the floor with a blank expression on his face. He finally looked back up and looked into my eyes. "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen again. I- I don't think I'm right for you. Maybe this is a sign."

I angrily grimaced and cried, "No, you are right for me! I don't know for sure if I'm pregnant or not, but even if I am.." I sniffled. "This is _not_ a sign. Pl- Please don't think that."

"I don't know what to think." He whispered, not looking at me.

"Don't think anything, because there- this.. we just probably have nothing to worry about, okay!" I shouted.

He glared into my eyes and raised his voice, "Nothin' to worry about? How do we have nothin' to worry about when you have signs of bein' pregnant? You just had a baby five months ago, and now you might be pregnant again! You're only sixteen years old, and I'm just seventeen! You shouldn't have to go through this two times! If you're pregnant, your mom's gonna ban me from ever coming over here or talkin' to you! Your dad is gonna hate me even more than he already did, and so will the rest of your family!"

I folded my arms together. "My dad doesn't hate you! And she won't ban you from coming over here! No one will be mad at you, except YOU will be mad at you! The only one my mom and dad will be mad at is _me_, after I tell them that this was my idea and my fault!" I yelled.

He laughed scornfully. "This is _not_ your fault. If- If I didn't.." He looked away. "If I never got you pregnant at band camp then this would never have happened, because you wouldn't be pressured to do this. "

"Now you're just being ridiculous." I muttered. "I was not pressured to do this! I _wanted_ to. If you didn't get me pregnant at band camp, we wouldn't even be together right now. We wouldn't have John."

"You think I'm being ridiculous?" He asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, you are! You're definitely being ridiculous, and you're overreacting! We're meant to be together, I thought you knew that!" I looked into his eyes and pulled my eyebrows together angrily. "But apparently you don't."

"No, I don't. I thought we were, but then this happened. If we were meant to be together then this wouldn't keep happenin' to us! You are absolutely _absurb_ acting like this is no big deal when actually, it's a huge deal."

"Shut up, Ricky!" I muttered to him furiously. "I never said it wasn't a big deal, I just said that-"

"No." He interrupted as he stood up from the couch. "I have to go."

He got half way to the doorway before I stopped him. "Ricky, wait!" I yelled loudly. I heard him sigh, but then he turned around and looked at me, but I didn't say anything. The look on his face left me speechless.

He looked so angry. He looked like he was angry with me, and I didn't even know who he was anymore. He was not the same Ricky that I've been with for the past few months. "Fine. I'm waitin'. What do you want?" He said angrily to me.

Suddenly, tears started pouring down my cheeks and I was crying my eyes out. "You." I managed to choke out. "All I want is _you_."

I looked back up at him, and he had a blank, expressionless look on his face. He sighed and looked around the room nervously. He walked back over to me and sat down beside me. He tightly wrapped his arms around me and whispered, "I'm already yours. _Sh_," He soothed me, running his fingers through my hair to comfort me. "Don't cry. I'm sorry. I love you."

"I love _you_." I cried. "Just d- don't leave me. Please."

"I'm not. I won't leave you. I'm sorry, Amy. I'm just scared, but I'll be here as long as you want me here." He said quietly.

I sniffled and replied, "I always want you."

He gently grabbed my arm and pulled me away, and then he looked deeply into my eyes as he delicately moved a strand of hair from my face. "Then I will be here. Forever." He pulled me back into him and kissed me lightly on the lips.

He quickly pulled away as we heard the door open again. I looked over in that direction and saw my mom. She walked over to the counter and put down a brown paper sack. She scowled when she saw Ricky and rolled her eyes as she marched out of the room.

I stood up and raced over to get it. I opened the sack and saw the pregnancy test in it. I quickly walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I took a deep breath as I nervously held it in my hand, hoping for the best.

**Ricky's POV**

I was a nervous wreck. I didn't know what I would do if Amy got pregnant again. I had already put her through enough already, she shouldn't have to go through it again. I pulled myself up unto my feet as I heard the doorbell ring. I went over to the door and opened it, standing there was George, Ashley, and _Adrian._

"Hi?" I said, confused as to why Adrian was with George and Ashley.

"Yeah, hi." George muttered angrily. "We heard what happened to Ames."

"Nothing happened to her." I said back, my tone was just as harsh as his had been. "What are you doing here, _Adrian_?" I scoffed.

"I came to see you, of course." She said seductively. I squeezed my lips tightly together and looked away from her, trying to restrain myself from being tempted by her, althought it was still hard, even though I loved Amy.

George rolled his eyes at Adrian and me. "She was already coming over here I guess, so we decided to come together. If you love Amy like you say you do, then why are you flirting with Adrian?"

I flinched and shook my head as I rolled my eyes back at him. "_Ugh_, I'm not flirting with Adrian. If anyone's flirting here, it's her. And I do love Amy very much. Why are you here at one in the morning?"

"Yeah, sure. You love Amy now, now that you slept with her again. Just like you _loved_ her at band camp." He grumbled, walking over to the couch with Ashley, and then he yelled across the room. "Why are _you_ here at one in the morning? I should be the one asking questions here. You definitely should not be here this late at night."

"She called me and asked me to come over here. I wasn't going to say no." I explained, and then I turned around and walked over to Adrian who was waiting to talk to me.

"You know you could still leave her. Before you damage her anymore than you already have." She said.

I sighed and answered, "It wouldn't help her any if I left. Why can't you just leave me alone? Can't you see I don't want you anymore?" I asked seriously, but then I had a small smirk on my face and asked playfully, "You have Ben now anyway, right?"

"Well not now," She smirked. "He's in Italy. I- I don't like him anyway. So while he's gone we could-"

"No." I interrupted her. "We're done, Adrian. I.." I looked away from her quickly and said, unsure of myself, "I don't want to do that anymore. With you."

"Yes you do." She replied. "I can see it in your eyes. Amy wasn't near as good as me, was she?" She laughed. "You want to come back to me. You can. Come over tonight and.. you won't regret it." She grabbed my hand flirtatiously.

"Yes," I replied, shaking her hand off of mine. "I will. I will regret it." Although I still wanted to have sex with Adrian, I wasn't going to. It was just a habit, and soon enough I would get over it. I _want_ Adrian, but I not only want Amy. I _need_ her, and I don't want to live without her in my life. "As much as I want to, I have to say no. And you know why I have to say no, Adrian, so leave me alone. Just give it up! I will never come back to you. Never! So go! Walk out right now." I yelled.

Suddenly Amy came walking into the living room as she came out of the bathroom, so Adrian never got the chance to say anything. I quickly walked over to Amy and watched her as I waited for her to say something.

She looked at me for a few seconds, but then whispered quietly with tears in her eyes, "It-" She quickly wiped the tear away. "It's negative."

I breathed a sigh of relief and threw my arms around her. "Thank God." I picked her up and she swung her legs around me as I kissed her, but then I heard George loudly clearing his throat from the living room, so I put her down and turned around to face him.

"You were lucky this time. But don't let it happen again." George warned me and Amy.

I nodded, overwhelmed by how happy I was and I said, "Okay. It _won't _happen again."

Amy's mom came up behind her and Amy looked over at her and said quietly, tears still in her eyes, "I'm not pregnant."

Anne closed her eyes shut for a second, but then she opened them again and said, "That's great, Amy. I don't know what we would have done if you got pregnant again. Be more careful in the future. Don't let it happen again."

"Yeah, I told her." George said, turning to look at Amy. "Well, I'm glad you aren't- you know." He looked at Ashley. "I guess we should leave now, Ash. It's getting late, and I don't think your mother would want us over here so late. Let's go."

They both stood up and Ashley said, "_Getting_ late? It's been late."

Anne crossed her arms and walked towards them as she walked them out the door. "Bye George. Bye Ashley." She shut the door behind them, and she gestured for Amy to follow her out into the living room. I got the message and walked off into Amy's room, leaving them alone.

**Amy's POV**

We both sat down on the couch, and before my mom could say anything, I said, "I- I'm so sorry. I know you don't understand why I.. had sex with him.. _again_. You probably never will understand, but I am sorry. I guess I was lucky this time, like Dad said."

She nodded. "Yes you were lucky. And I _do _understand, Amy. I understand how much you love him. I see the way he looks at you, and I know he loves you too. I just don't want you to make that mistake again and get yourself into what you had to deal with last year."

I let out a loud breath and murmured, "_I _don't think it was a mistake. I- I don't want to be like the other girls, like.. like Adrian, and have sex all the time. Especially since I just turned sixteen. But with Ricky.. I don't know. I just want to. It makes me feel alive."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "Amy, just please be careful. We don't want this to happen again."

"Okay." I replied. "Can Ricky sleep over tonight? It's late, so he probably doesn't want to drive home.."

"Fine, but _only_ sleep." She answered, as she got up from the couch and walked to the kitchen. I nodded and smiled as I also stood up from the couch and walked into my room with Ricky.

He was standing over John's crib, smiling at him. "Hi." I whispered quietly to him.

He looked over at me and smiled warmly and gently said, "Hi." He walked over to me and took my hand as he pulled me over to the bed, and we both sat down. He looked straight into my eyes and pressed his lips on mine, but quickly pulled away. "I love you."

"I love you too." I replied, and took a deep breath before I spoke again. "I don't think my mom's mad at me anymore. She- she said you can stay over here tonight.. but if you- if you want to."

"Of course I want to." He said. He grabbed me by the waist and then took me into his arms and carried me to the other side of the bed. He laid me down onto the bed, and he walked back around to the other side of the bed, and he lay down beside me.

"So, what do you want to do for the rest of the summer?" Ricky asked me, as I laid myself down on his chest while he put his hand around my back and watched me closely.

"I don't know." I breathed, "I can't believe there's only two weeks before school starts back. I really don't look forward to seeing Ben and everyone else."

"Yeah, I know. I don't want to see Ben either, or Adrian." He paused, but finally he spoke again, "Let's go somewhere- this summer, I mean, before school starts back again. Let's go somewhere together."

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, yawning when I suddenly felt exhausted.

"I'm not sure." He noticed how tired I was, and I could barely keep my eyes opened."We'll talk about it in the morning. Sleep, you're tired."

"Okay." I whispered. "Good night." He pulled the covers over us and kissed me on the forehead and replied, "Good night, Amy." and that was the last thing I heard him say before I closed my eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

_Ricky's POV_

I woke up and didn't see Amy beside me. I sat up on the bad and looked around, and I didn't see her anywhere in her room. I pulled myself off the bed and walked out of her room, and I saw her standing in the kitchen.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing." She replied quickly as she turned away from me. I looked at her closely. She was taking a birth control pill.

"Oh, really?" I laughed. "Do you plan on seducing me or something? I'm not gonna have sex with you again. Look what it's got us into so far."

She turned back around and looked at me and folded her arms together. "I don't care, Ricky. I want to be that kind of couple. I want to be the kind of couple who has a physical _and_ emotional relationship."

I laughed again. "You're joking."

She shook her head. "Does it look like I'm joking?"

"No." I answered. "Did you not listen to your parents? They don't want you to do that again."

"Well, I listened to half of what they said." She smiled. "They told me to be careful, and as you can see, I am being careful. So there'll be absolutely nothing to worry about, and you know it."

"Fine." I gave in quickly. I was too weak, I couldn't go long without sex. "But-" She gave me an annoyed look, but I ignored her and continued, "But this time, I want to be completely alone with you." I walked over and stood beside her.

She smiled as I gave in, and she swallowed the pill. "Okay, you said you wanted to go somewhere this summer. Where did you want to go? Is that why you wanted to go somewhere- to be alone with me so we-"

"Actually, not really." I laughed as I watched her taking the pill. "Amy, you really have changed a lot, you know that?"

Amy laughs along with me and answers, "Not really."

"You definitely have."

Amy nods in agreement and chuckles. "Well so have you."

I shook my head and leaned against the counter as I answered, "I guess I have a little bit, but not nearly as much as you."

"Oky, fine." She agreed. "Well tell me where you wanted to go. You said we'd talk about it this morning." She said, as we both walked back into her room. She walked over to the table that was beside her bed and put the rest of the pills in the drawer.

"Well, there is this one specific place I wanted to take you where we can be _completely_ alone. I don't think your mom will approve of it, but it can't hurt to ask. Maybe she can watch John for a few days. We never get to be alone, and I _really_ want time alone with you. Surely she can understand."

"Okay, I'll go ask her now." She said, as she started walking towards the door, but I stopped her once she was in the doorway.

"Wait, don't ask now." I said. She turned around and looked at me with a confused look on her face. She stood there and waited for me to say something else, but it took me a few seconds before I found my voice again.

"Don't you think it's too soon to ask her, after what happened yesterday?" He asked.

"No, not really." She disagreed. "You said it can't hurt to ask, so I'm going to ask now. I'll be right back." She walked quickly out the doorway, and I laughed at how stubborn she was.

_Amy's POV_"Mom?" I called as I walked into the living room, searching for her, but she didn't answer. "Mom?" I yelled again. No answer. I figured that she was at my dad and Ashley's house, so I walked outside and knocked on the door once I got to their house.

"Coming." I heard Ashley yell inside. The door suddenly swung up, and I walked inside. And my mom _was_ there. She was talking to my dad; maybe he told her that the baby was his, but I didn't care either way. I walked right up to her and waited for her to stop talking.

"Is everything okay, Amy?" She asked.

"Yeah." I answered. " I just wanted to ask you something.." I paused, waiting to see her reaction. She didn't say anything, so I continued. "Um, I was just wondering if I could go to-" I stopped. Ricky hadn't told me where he wanted to go. "Uh, if I could go.. somewhere with Ricky this summer, before school starts back. "

"Like a vacation?"

"Yes! A vacation!" I lied. "Ricky's foster parents are taking him somewhere, and they wanted to know if I wanted to go with them. But I don't know where, Ricky hasn't told me yet. So is that okay?"

"I guess it's fine." She answered.

"Okay!" I said happily. I walked over the door and shut it on my way out, then I walked quickly back to my house and went inside. I went into my room where Ricky was, and he was sitting down on the bed with John.

"She said yes." I told him, smiling.

"Really?" He asked, with a surprised look on his face.

"Yeah, but I lied. I told her we were going with your foster parents."

He crinkled his eyebrows together and carried John back over to his bassinet and put him in it, then he walked back over to the bed, and we both sat down beside one another. "Why'd you lie?

"Well, because. I asked her if I could go somewhere with you, and she asked me if I was going on a vacation, so that gave me an idea. You didn't tell me where we were going, so I figured I would just lie. It's probably the best thing I could have done."

"Oh." He replied.

"Yeah, so where are we going? And _when _are we going?" I asked, as I stood up from the bed and walked back over to John's bassinet and scooped him up in my arms. I walked him over to the bed and sat him down in my lap as I fed him his food.

"Well, I was thinking we would go.. some time _next week? _I- I wanted to take you to this cabin that's by a beach. My foster parents took me there when I was younger, before it became uninhabited."

"Next week's fine." I said, and I walked back over to John's bed after I finished feeding him and put him back in it so he could sleep, then I walked over to my bed, and I sat back down beside Ricky.

The weekend finally passed by. Ricky came over every day of the weekend, and he slept over every night. We told my mother where we were going, but she still believes the whole story about us going on vacation together with Ricky's foster parents.

Right now, it's four in the morning on Monday. Ricky and I already packed all of our clothes and everything else into our suitcases, and it's laying on the floor in the living room, beside the front door. Ricky said we were leaving at five in the morning, which is in only an hour.

I rolled over in the bed and wrapped my arms tightly around him, and he woke up and smiled at me. "Well good morning, my love." I smiled back. He had never called me that before.

I laughed. "Good morning."

"Do you want to go now?" He asked. He sat up from the bed with his knees against his chest, and I sat up beside him.

I wondered how long it would take to get there, and what exactly he wanted to do there. He tried to convince me that he doesn't want to take me there just to have sex with me again, but I didn't believe him. I thought that was the main reason.

Ricky watched me closely, and saw that I had spaced out. He put his hands on my shoulders and smiled as he looked into my eyes. I laughed and answered, "Yeah, we can go now. If you want to. How long will it take to get there?"

"I don't know. Around ten hours." He answered me quickly with duration.

"_Ten_ hours!?" I exclaimed, surprised. Ricky put his arms around my waist, and then gathered me into his arms as he carried me off my feet as he stood up from the bed. He spun me around and kissed me, and laughed before he set me down on my feet.

"Yes, ten hours. Maybe not that much. I don't know. I've never driven there myself. I drive faster than my foster parents did, so it might not take quite that long. But that's an estimate."

I walked over to John and kissed him on his cheek and whispered, "Bye John. I'll miss you."

Ricky came over beside me and took John into his hands. "I love you, John. We'll be back soon." Then he put him back into his bassinet. He grabbed me by my hand and led me out into the living room.

"Are you sure you know where it is?" I asked, slightly worried.

He chuckled. "Yes, I know where it is. Don't worry. Do you think I would drive you six hundred miles away if I wasn't sure of where I was going? Do you think I'd let us get stranded and lost in some unfamiliar place? Well.. that doesn't sound half bad, but you have nothing to worry about. Trust me."

He pressed his lips to mine and quickly pulled away. He picked up both of our suitcases and bags and opened the door for me. But then I suddenly remembered and said, "Oh! I forgot. Hold on. Let me tell my mom I'm leaving."

"Just leave her a note." Ricky said.

"Okay." I quickly ran around to find a piece of paper. I walked into my room and opened the drawer and found paper and a pen. I went back into the living room and wrote, "Mom, Ricky and I left this morning at 4:30. I didn't want to wake you up, so I just left you a note. I love you

-Amy"

I walked into the kitchen and put the note down on the counter, and then Ricky and I walked out to his car together.

He put the suitcases in the trunk, and opened the door of the passenger seat for me. I got in the car, and then he got in, and we pulled out of the driveway and drove off. I reached in my pocket and pulled out the birth control pills and took one, making sure Ricky didn't see.

It was cold, so I got out the blanket that we put in the backseat and wrapped it around me. We drove for twenty minutes before I fell asleep.

_Ricky's POV_

I looked over at Amy, and I saw her sleeping. I was exhausted, but I made myself concentrate so I would stay awake. I turned the car light on so I could see the road better, since it was pitch black dark outside.

I drove for eight hours in complete silence. The sun was completely out across the sky, and Amy was _still_ sleeping, and it was one in the afternoon. I didn't want to wake her, but I was really getting bored.

An hour later, I heard her ask, as she was just waking up, "Are we almost there?"

_Amy's POV_

I opened my eyes as I woke up. I noticed how bright it was, and I looked at the radio clock- it was two fifteen. I stretched and asked Ricky, "Are we almost there? Where are we?"

He looked over at me and smirked, but only for a second. "Yeah, we should be there in about a half hour."

I nodded, but I didn't say anything. After a few minutes, I closed my eyes and fell back asleep. In what seemed to be only a few minutes, which was actually thirty, Ricky woke me up. I opened my eyes and looked at him. "Are we there?"

"Yes, we're here." He said. I looked out the window and saw us pulling into a long, gravel road. The cabin was small but really nice and was made out of red brickstone. Behind it were a few trees that covered the house, and I surprised to find that behind that was a beach. Ricky wasn't kidding when he said their was an _uninhabited beach._ I was surprised that it was right behind the cabin.

He led me inside, and I looked around the living room, which had light brown wooden walls. As you entered the front door, you could see the couch on the left of you against the wall and directly in front of it was a glass table and a medium sized TV that was against the other side of the wall in front of it. There were four long windows which had shudders on them. To the right, you could see the kitchen which was in the same room. Straight in front of me there was a short hallway- the bathroom was on the left, and there were two bedrooms on the right.

I walked into one of the bedrooms and stood in the doorway. The room was fairly big for a bedroom. The walls were painted blue, and there was a large bed in the middle of the room, and a dresser was on the right. I walked down the hallway and went into the other bedroom. It was almost the same except it was painted brown and there was a rug in the room.

I turned around and saw Ricky right behind me, and I smiled at him. "I love it."

He smiled. "Me too. Meet me on the beach." I nodded, and I watched him as he walked away. I quickly ran into the bathroom. I didn't know what to do- or what to wear. I walked to the end of the hallway and looked out the window- there was absolutely _no one_ on the beach.

I went back into the bathroom and decided to just wear my bathing suit. I pulled it out of my suitcase and took my clothes off and slid it on. Then I took a deep breath as I tried to calm myself. My heart was beating rapidly and uncontrollably, and I could hear it pounding in my chest.

_It was just Ricky out there_, I told myself. Nothing to be nervous about.

Finally, I pulled myself together and walked out of the cabin. I went around to the other side of the house and walked past the grass, until my feet reached the sand, then I gently kicked it as I walked along.

Ricky was in the water. And his shirt was laying on the sand. I slowly tredded my way through the water over to him, and he grabbed me by my hands, and we walked into deeper water until the water reached to my chest.

He pulled me closer to him and pressed his lips to mine and pulled away after a few seconds. He rubbed his hand across my cheek and kissed me again, and I said, after he finally pulled away again, "Do you think my mom will be mad once she finds out we came here alone together?"

He laughed. "That was random. I don't know, she probably will be. But that's why we're not going to tell her. But let's not talk about that, don't worry about it. This is just about you and me. I love you, Amy." He said gently.

"I love you too." I whispered. We stayed in the water for around an hour, but then we laid down on the sand together. We were at the beach for five hours, and it was now seven o' clock, and it was pitch black dark.

Ricky stood up and pulled me by my hand along with him. "You want to go inside now?" He asked me. Ricky picked his shirt up off the sand and carried it with him. All I could do was nod. I was overwhelmed by how perfect this was, and I actually felt like I was about to cry.

But instead, I smiled when I felt his hand tightly clenched with mine. It felt _right._

Ricky and I both walked inside, locking the door behind us. We both walked into the bathroom. I opened my suitcase and took out shorts and a tank top, and I tossed it down on the floor. I looked at Ricky, and I was surprised that he wasn't staring at me. I turned with my back facing him, and I quickly slid off my swimsuit and put my clothes back on.

We walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. He put one arm around me and brushed through my hair with his other hand. "So what do you want to do?" He asked."

"I don't know." I answered, trying to sound indifferent.

"Well let me know when you think of something." He smirked.

I knew what I wanted to do, and I knew what _he_ wanted to do, but for some reason I couldn't bring up the subject of it now. "Can we stay here more than a few days?" I finally asked.

"I guess, if you want to. Tomorrow we'll call your mother and make sure that's okay. We can stay here a little longer if you want." He looked away from me, and looked restlessly around the room. He seemed to be nervous, just like I was. I had never been _completely_ alone with him before, except when we were at band camp, but that didn't count. Other than that, there was usually someone else with us or _around_ us.

I suddenly remembered something and thought I should tell Ricky. "My dad finally told my mom that he never had his surgery. I think she's pretty upset, I guess they're getting a fraternity test or something once the baby's born."

"Oh, really?" Ricky asked. "Is he and Ashley gonna move back in if it's his baby?"

"I don't know." I answered, but then said quietly, "I wish they would. I miss us all being a family. I know they're right next door to us, but it's just not the same. I _hope_ it's his baby. I'm really thinking it is."

"Well I'm sure what ever happens will happen for the best." Ricky said quickly, as he looked impatient about something, but I just ignored him. I suddenly felt a wave of jealousy run through me as I looked at Ricky, and remembered he'd been with Adrian more than me. A lot more. It made me feel mad to feel jealous, but I couldn't help it, I just was.

Ricky seemed to notice the look in my eyes and assumed something was wrong. He studied my face very closely and then asked, "What is it?"

I looked at him with an embarrassed and shocked look on my face. He took my hand in his, and I calmed down a little bit. "It's nothing." I simple answered.

"No," He pressed on. "It's something. Tell me what's bothering you."

"It's just-" I stopped, feeling embarrassed. "Nothing."

"No, Amy. Tell me what's wrong." He said, frustrated.

I looked away from him, but he tilted my head up to look at him, and I was forced to meet his gaze. He had a strange, nervous look on his face, but at the same time he looked frustrated that I wouldn't tell him. I didn't want to tell him that I was jealous, but I could see that he wasn't going to give it up. "It.. It's just that you.. I-" I sighed as I still couldn't find the courage to tell him.

Ricky groaned and leaned back against the couch as he stared at me again. "Why won't you tell me?"

I frowned when I saw that he looked hurt by my equivocation. "It's nothing. You'll be mad at me."

He shook his head. "No, I won't be mad. Whatever it is, I won't. I promise. Just go ahead and tell me, or I can't help you."

I couldn't find the strength to say anything. I looked down at the floor, but Ricky forced me to look back up at him, and I saw a smile on his face which made me laugh. I was serious again, and I finally decided I would tell him. I quietly whispered, "You- you've been with Adrian more than me."

He frowned. His eyes narrowed, but then his face was soft again as he chuckled. "That's what's bothering you? Why is it worrying you? I don't understand."

"I don't know." I said quietly.

He sighed. I didn't understand why I felt this way, I just did. I felt jealous and that made me apprehensive about what would happen when we go back to school, and he sees her every day. I couldn't get if off of my mind. I just wanted to be assured that he was completely over her.

"Amy, I don't care about Adrian anymore. I have _never _cared about her near as much as I care for you. You have nothing to worry about. I promise I won't let her get in the way of us-"

"But she will." I interrupted. "She's always going to be trying to get you back, and you'll always be tempted by her. Let's face the facts, you aren't exactly the greatest example of being able to restrain yourself from temptation."

He glared at me for a minute, trying to figure out what I was thinking. "Do you have any idea at all of how much I love you, Amy? I love only _you. _What can I do so that you'll believe me? Adrian and I are over, and I'll never go back to her. I promise."

"Don't promise me that." I whispered. I didn't want to believe him. Because if I did and he cheated on me, my heart would break in half, and I'd never be able to recover.

Anger and agony filled up in his eyes. "You think I'm lying?"

"No, not lying." I paused, thinking it through consistently before I said anything else, so I could make sure I said every word accurately. "I believe you now, but what about when school starts back, and you have to see her every day and try to resist going back to her? It's always going to haunt you, and to be honest, I don't think you're capable of restraining yourself for that long. What happens if I turn you down, and Adrian asks you to come over, wouldn't you give in and go over there? What if, hypothetically, Ben and Adrian still try to make us jealous, would you give in then? Would you let them convince you that we're all with the wrong people, and that me and you aren't meant to be together? What if something happens and we think I could be pregnant again, would you get mad again like you did last time and leave me?"

He flinched, and anger burned in his eyes. "Amy Juergens! You are being absurb! You can not _honestly_ believe that after everything we've been through that I would just throw everything away that we have and go back to Adrian! So what if I might be tempted by her? I won't let her break me, I'll get over it eventually, because the way I love you is permanent and I'm not going to let her ruin that."

Tears of anger built up in my eyes as I thought about and remembered all the times I saw Adrian and Ricky together at school, and how close they seemed."That's what you say now! But I know you, and you _can't_ just stay away from her! I know you can't! She knows you better than anyone else, better than probably even I do! One day you might think about it and realize you don't really love me, you were just using me in the beginning and that's all you're capable of doing! _Manipulating_ girls and then completely ignoring them after you get what you want from them!" I cried.

I hadn't meant to get that upset, but Ricky wanted to know what was bothering me, so I wasn't holding back anymore.

He narrowed his eyes in disbelief and looked away as he thought about everything I had just said. He looked back at me and pursed his lips. "I know I used to manipulate girls, and I probably still want to, but I'm not going to! And _because_ of you, because of John, and because of how much I love you both, I _will_ stop everything that I have done in my past. I _need _you, and with you I forget everything else, and I grow stronger through you. This may be the only thing that I'm certain about, but I _do_ love you."

I had tears running down my cheeks, and I was crying my eyes out. Ricky wrapped his arms around me as I cried into his shoulder. "I know. I know you love me. I'm sorry." I cried, my voice cracked after every other word.

"It's okay." He whispered, trying to calm me down.

We both pulled away and stared at each other for a few seconds. I held my arms out so Ricky would pick me up, hoping he would catch on.

He smirked and stood up from the couch. He put me into his arms and quickly carried me into the blue bedroom. We walked into the room, and it was dark, and we could barely see anything except each other when we were right next to one another. He set me down on the bed, and then he lay on the bed beside me. I unbuttoned his shirt and he helped and took it off and pulled off his pants. I carefully unbuttoned my shirt and tossed it down on the floor, then I took the rest of my clothes off, and Ricky did the same.

He leaned over and lightly kissed me on the lips, but then he kissed me more roughly. The heat of his body felt good on my cold skin, as we collide against each other. I pressed my hands hard against his back as I moved my body with his, while his hands were around my waist. We didn't stop until two hours later, and we were both beside each other panting heavily under the covers.

I stared at Ricky's chest as he quickly took in each breath, and then I said exhaustedly, "Wow."

"I know." Ricky managed to choke out, as he panted breathlessly, practically gasping for breath. I figured he was weak before since he hadn't had sex in a month, which was probably a long time for him.

I felt better now that I knew Ricky _was_ over Adrian. I trusted him, but I still didn't make myself believe it, just in case. And with that thought in my head, I finally fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

I hope you like this chapter. I'll write the next chapter really soon after I get a few reviews :D

_____________

Hearing my phone vibrate, I woke up. I hadn't remembered bringing my phone in here with me last night. I pulled up the covers and looked to see if it was under there. It wasn't. I looked behind me- it was beside the bed post.

I sighed and picked up my phone. I looked at the caller id; it was my mother. I sat up in the bed, and I pressed the button and whispered groggily into the phone, "Hello-" There was a lump in my throat when I first attempted to speak. I cleared my throat and spoke again. "Hello?"

"Hey, Amy. I just called to see how you were doing. I called you last night at around 10, but there was no answer." I gulped. She paused, and I assumed that she heard. She ignored me and continued. "Uh, so what have you been doing? Are you having fun?" I could hear her chuckling over the phone.

Speechless, I held my mouth slightly opened as I figured out what to say. I hoped she didn't know Ricky and I were here alone. Finally I found the words and nodded to myself, my heart racing. "Yep. I'm having fun." I couldn't think of what to say to answer her question of what I was doing.

"Well that's good Amy." She paused. I squeezed my eyes closed, hoping she wouldn't ask me again after I didn't answer her. "I just wanted to let you know that John and I are doing fine. He's been really fussy, but I quiet him down eventually."

"Oh." I replied, but then I suddenly remembered. "Oh yeah, Mom, is it okay if I stay here a little longer? Maybe another week or so. There's only two weeks before school, and I've been so tired with John and everything, and I was just wondering if maybe you could watch John for-"

"No, Amy." She interrupted me. "I know you've been tired, but that's no excuse for you to just leave for that long of a time. I told you you could stay a few days, but a week is ridiculous."

"Mom, it's not fair! I- I want to stay longer! Please? Can't you just watch him a little longer!? You said you were doing fine, so you'll still be doing fine in a week! Just give me a little longer and I'll-"

"No." She cut me off again. "Amy, I know exactly what's going on. So stop trying to fool me. I know you and Ricky are there alone." My heart stopped." I figured it out yesterday. I'll let you stay today, but I want you home tomorrow."

"How'd you figure it out?" I asked her, surprised and shocked. I bet she was really mad at me now that she knew. But didn't she just say I could stay a few days? Why'd she suddenly change her mind if she already knew what was going on?

"Well, Amy, it was kind of obvious. I wasn't really paying much attention to you when you asked me permission to go, but when I was thinking about it earlier today, I remembered how.." She paused. "how strange you sounded, like you were hiding something. I'm not dumb, Amy."

"I know. I- I just. I- I'm sorry. Why do I have to be home tomorrow? Mom, please! Let me stay longer." I said, hopefully, as I nervously twisted a strand of hair.

"No, Amy! You need to be home tomorrow! Not only because I don't want you to be alone with Ricky, but also because you _need_ to be home!"

"Why!" I snapped at her in a whiny voice.

"Because I said so!" She snapped back. I groaned. That was the only thing parents could ever think of to say. They should at least give a proper reason, _because I said so _just isn't good enough.

"That's not fair!" I shouted, covering my mouth quickly as I realized I was too loud. I lowered my voice before I said anything else. "There's no reason I should be home tomorrow. You said I could stay a few more days."

"That was before I knew it was just you and Ricky. Amy, just be home tomorrow. Don't get yourself into trouble." And then the phone line went dead.

I hung up the phone and set it down beside my leg. I hadn't noticed, but I looked over and saw Ricky sitting up in the bed beside me.

"Th- that was my mom." I told him nervously.

"I know." He laughed. "What'd she say?"

"Um, well." I paused, brushing my fingers through my hair. "She- she kinda figured out that we were here alone. And- she wants us to be home tomorrow." I frowned. "At least she didn't seem that mad. I bet she'll be mad when I get home, though."

He leaned over to sit closer to me, and we both sat with our knees pulled into our chest. Ricky put his arm around my waist and sighed. "Well, at least we have all of today."

"Yeah, I guess." I grumbled. I put my head on my knees and sulked. I suddenly noticed I wasn't wearing any clothes. "Uh- we should get dressed."

Ricky laughed. "Okay."

Ricky must've stayed awake after I did last night, because he was wearing pants. He threw his self up off the bed and crawled around me. He stood up and grabbed his shirt from the floor and put it on.

I waited until he wasn't looking at me, and I got up from the bed and put my clothes on. Ricky grabbed my hand, and we both walked out of the room and walked down the hallway. "So what do you want to do?"

I pursed my lips and thought about it for a while. It really didn't matter to me, I just wanted to be with him. "I don't know. What time is it?"

He shrugged his shoulders and quickly reached for his phone out of his pocket. "It's 1."

It was one? I couldn't believe it was that late. I think I went to sleep around midnight, so I had slept thirteen hours? I sighed. "Wow, okay. Well, I'm starving."

"Hm, me too." He muttered. We both walked into the kitchen. I didn't really feel like eating lunch, so I just decided I would eat cereal. I reached in the cabinet that was to the left of the refrigerator and pulled out a bowl. I got out the cereal and milk and filled up the bowl.

Ricky and I sat down at the small wooden, round table that was behind the kitchen- right behind the counter in a small section of the room. We both ate quickly.

Ricky walked up beside me and grabbed me by the waist and wrapped his arms around me. He pulled away and smiled softly. "I love you."

I smiled back at him. "I love you, too. I wish we could stay here longer."

"I know, me too. But we can still be alone sometimes, maybe your mom will let you come over to my apartment."

"Yeah, maybe. But I don't know. I don't really think she trusts me. Maybe I can talk her into it." I said. Ricky chuckled and pulled me over to the couch. We both sat down beside one another.

After that, we went to the beach for a while. We stayed for a few hours- not as long as we had yesterday. We got back to the cabin at around five o' clock and ate dinner.

And so the day went by quickly. Before I knew it, it was already eleven o'clock at night. For some reason, I was _exhausted_, I didn't know why. But I didn't want to go to sleep. I dreaded going back home, because I knew I'd have to put up with whatever my mother complained to me about. Also, I knew the day were dragging on, and school was getting closer to starting back.

Right now Ricky and I were sitting on the couch together. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I quickly took it out and groaned. "Ben's texting me." I told Ricky.

He looked at me for a few seconds, his eyes narrowed. "What does he want?"

I pressed the button, and the message read:

_Amy, got home from Italy earlier today. I was going to call you, but I decided I'd just talk to you later. I can't wait to see you. Hopefully we can be together again now that I'm back. You've had the summer to think about it. I hope you chose to be with me. Love you always._

_  
_"Ugh!" I groaned. Didn't I already tell Ben that I didn't want to be with him? Why couldn't he understand? I showed Ricky the message, and I pushed the _reply_ button and texted:

_OK I'll see you later._I put my phone down after I sent the message. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so that's all I said. I guess I would have to explain again to him later that I didn't want to be with him. I knew he would be upset, and we'd probably get in a fight about it, but he would just have to learn to get over it. I don't now or ever again want to be with Ben. But as much as I hated to admit it, I did still love Ben. I loved Ricky much more though, so I was just going to ignore that feeling I had. It would go away eventually, right?  
I yawned, and I was having a hard time keeping my eyes open. I quickly opened them and tightly squeezed them shut again for a second.  
A few minutes later, it became almost impossible for me to stay awake. I gave up and decided to let myself fall asleep.  
I had to face Ben sometime, so sooner would be better, that way I could get it over with quicker.

I woke up in the morning- the sun was shining brightly through the windows that were surrounding the entire living room.

I squinted and looked up. Ricky was laying beside me, still asleep. My heartbeat rapidly increased as I feared that we had slept too late. My mother told me to be home _today_, and we would have to leave this morning to be home by today.

I threw my legs over the couch and pulled myself up. "Ricky." I called to him, trying to wake him up.

I pulled out my cell phone from my pocket and checked the time- it was nine o'clock. So if we left soon, we could be home around six or seven tonight.

I groaned to myself when I remembered how long I would have to ride in the car. Ten hours was an awful long time.

Ricky woke up and stood up from the couch. "What time is it?" He asked me abruptly.

"It's 9. We need to get ready to leave now."

"Okay." He replied. "You sure you want to leave _now?_ We could leave later. Your mom probably wouldn't mind if we got back tonight. She said today, so as long as we're back _today,_ then it's okay, right?"

I laughed. "Yeah, well she probably wouldn't like it if we got home too late. I wish we could stay longer. I wish we could stay here until school starts back, but unfortunately we can't."

"Okay, well get dressed. I'll put everything in the car, and we'll get ready to go."

I nodded and walked into the bedroom. I walked around to the left side of the bed and picked up my bag that was lying by the table which was beside the bed.

I put my bag on the bed and pulled out my jeans and a low-cut, light blue shirt. I quickly changed my clothes, and I picked up my bag. I walked out of the bed room and down the hallway, until I reached the front door. I opened the brown, wooden door and walked to the car with Ricky.

I opened the door of the passenger seat and put the bag down on the floorboard. I walked over beside Ricky, who was putting stuff in the trunk.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked, my voice filled with dismal and dread.

He nodded slowly and his eyes narrowed. He noticed how my voice sounded, and he smiled a small, calming smile. "I know you don't want to leave, but maybe going back home won't be so bad. Maybe seeing Ben won't be bad either, although seeing Adrian will be.. horrible." He laughed. "I'm sure they'll be jealous."

I frowned. "Well, that isn't the _only _reason I don't want to leave. I _love_ it here, and I don't want to go back to reality. I just want to stay here with you forever. I'm happy about seeing John, but it's really hard and-"

"I know." He nodded, cutting me off. "But John shouldn't be away from us for too long. Don't worry. We'll be together every day, whether it's at school or your house or my apartment.. we'll be together."

I smiled. "That's all that matters."

He smiled, too, in agreement, and he walked around to the drivers side and I got inside the car at the passenger seat, and we drove off. I looked behind me at the cabin and smiled a sad smile, hating to leave it. Hopefully one day we could come here again.

I turned back around in the seat as we were too far down the road to see it. I stayed awake for a few minutes, but I became bored, so I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

---

When I woke up, it was dark outside. I looked at the clock radio- the time was eight thirty. We've been driving for eleven hours? I wondered why it was taking so long. We should be home soon. I turned my head and looked at Ricky- he had his hands on the steering wheel, but he was mostly looking at me.

I rubbed my eyes, just waking up, as I felt like I was half asleep.

"Are we almost home?" I asked, but I couldn't make my voice any louder than a low, faint whisper.

"Yes." He answered. "We'll be at your house in about five minutes."

"Oh." I replied. I looked out the window to see where exactly we were. I couldn't really see anything around me except trees. We were on a two-lane road that was going straight, so we were just a couple of miles from my house.

Finally, the road finally had two turns. We took the right, and the road went straight again. We were drawing closer towards my house as we continued down the road, and finally we reached my house.

Ricky pulled into the driveway at my house and stopped the car. We both got out, shutting the door behind us. We walked to the front door, and I put my hand on the doorknob, taking a deep breath before I turned it and walked inside.

My mother, Dad, and Ashley were all wandering around in the kitchen. They all turned around when they heard the door open, and my dad said, "Welcome back, Ames!"

"Hi.. Dad." I said slowly. I walked into the kitchen with Ricky and stood over the kitchen counter. "What are you and Ashley doing over here so late?"

Ashley was standing around, directly straight ahead in front of me while my mom and dad were walking around, complaining to each other about the baby or something.

"To wait on you, of course!" My dad answered.

They went back to their conversation, and I tried to make sense of what they were talking about, and I heard Ashley say: "Mom, now that you know the baby is Dad's, we could move back in and be one, big happy family again." She said sarcastically, knowing Mom wasn't going to let them.

"Ashley, you can move back in anytime you want! But George and I are divorced now, so we'll have to see about it in the future. It's too soon to do anything about it now."

"It's too soon? You only have a couple of months until the baby will be born!" Ashley said in a low voice.

"It's still too soon, Ashley. We'll just have to see. But as of right now, I don't know. We'll just have to take it a day at a time."

Ashley rolled her eyes and folded her arms together indifferently and said: "Well, well. I'm tired. I guess I should be going. Bye Amy, bye Ricky."

She walked out the kitchen door, and Dad followed her after he waved. My mom stood beside the other counter across the kitchen in front of me.

"Amy, John is in your room. I just got him to sleep." She told me.

I nodded. "Okay. Well, I'll see you in the morning. I- I'm really tired." I said nervously, although I wasn't really tired. I didn't wait for her reply. I pulled Ricky by his hand down the hallway, and she didn't say anything about Ricky staying over, so I wasn't going to ask her if he could.

We walked into my room and shut the door. I went over to John's bassinet and looked at him- he was peacefully sleeping, just like my mom had said.

I smiled at him and sat down on the bed. Ricky sat down beside me after he walked off from John. "So, you're tired?" He asked.

My eyes narrowed for a second. "No?"

He smirked. "You said you were."

I laughed. I forgot I had said that. "Well, I'm not. I just said that. I... I guess I lied."

Ricky was about to say something, but my phone started vibrating. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. I had a text message from Ben.

I pressed the button to read the message, and it said:

_Amy, sorry I didn't reply to you earlier. I was busy with something. Where are you? Let's hang out later._

Ricky looked over at my phone as he watched me reply to him:

_I'm in my room with Ricky! See you later!_I laughed and sent the message, then I said to Ricky: "That's gonna make him mad."

"I bet it will." He smirked.

After a few minutes, I got another text message, and I didn't know why, but I started hyperventilating when I read it.


	12. Chapter 12

After a few minutes, I got another text message, and I didn't know why, but I started hyperventilating when I read it. The message said:

_WHAT? You're with Ricky in your ROOM? You know what, That's OK I don't even want to know! But listen, we need to talk. Amy I still love you. I haven't stopped.  
_  
So Ben still loved me. No matter what, I wasn't going to go back to him. My heart belonged with Ricky, and I didn't ever want to love anyone else. But unfortunately, I did love someone else. I loved Ben, too! But not enough to get back with him. Or did I? _No!_ I couldn't love him! I had to stop myself from thinking that- it was ridiculous.

"Everything okay, Amy?" Ricky asked, noticing that something was on my mind.

I thought about it for a second, but then answered. "Yeah, everything is fine! Really. I'm fine."

I couldn't help but feel stupid for loving Ben when Ricky talked to me. The look on his face said it all- he knew I was upset, and he knew I was upset about _Ben._ And I was embarrassed for even thinking that I could ever _possibly_ love Ben like I did Ricky.

I had made up my mind, and I chose Ricky.

---

One week had quickly gone by, and it was the night before school started back. I was going to be in tenth grade this year. I couldn't even believe that it had been around a year ago that I had found out I was pregnant. The year had just flown by.

Right now it was eleven o'clock. John and I were sitting on my bed, and I was feeding him baby food. After he was done I put him back in his bassinet and laid back down on my bed.

I looked up at the ceiling, and I tried to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I had too much on my mind- school, Ricky, John, Ben, and I was worried about what would happen when Ricky had to see Adrian again.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stop all the restless thoughts going on in my mind, but still I didn't have any luck. I let out a frustrated breath and gave up. There was nothing I could to do get these thoughts out of my mind.

Eventually, my mind wandered off and I finally fell asleep.

-

I woke up at around six in the morning. I groaned- I had school today. I took a deep breath and said to myself, "This is going to be a better year." And I had to make myself believe that. It _was_ going to be a better year, I hoped, now that I had Ricky.

I threw myself up off the bed. John was still sleeping, surprisingly, so I wasn't going to wake him up yet. I walked into my closet, and I didn't really bother looking through it. I took out a sleeveless, low-cut dark blue shirt and jeans and quickly put it on.

I sighed and walked over to John. "Are you ready to go back to the nursery today, John? I know I'm not ready to go back to school!" I grumbled. I picked John up and held him into my arms. I changed him and started to feed him, but then Ricky walked through my door.

"Good morning." He said, smiling.

"Good morning, Ricky." I replied, kissing him for a second but then quickly pulling away. I was in a hurry to get this day over with. I didn't expect the year to be any better than last year, but I hoped, although I still dreaded going back. "Here- take John and get him ready. I need to go find my mom." I said as I started walking towards the door.

I stopped in the doorway when I heard Ricky chuckling, but then I ignored him and walked out of my room. I found my mother in the kitchen with Ashley. My mom was complaining about what Ashley was wearing and her not dressing 'nice' enough.

I walked up to them and stood beside the counter. "Are you ready? Can we go now?" I asked my mother impatiently. Ashley narrowed her eyes, while my mom slightly smiled.

"Why? Are you in a hurry or something, Amy? Excited about your first day back at school?" She asked. She smiled, knowing that I wasn't. I stood there with a look of disbelief. Ashley laughed at my expression, but then her face was almost serious again.

"Nope, I'm definitely not excited about going back to school. And seeing _Ben. _I just want to hurry up and go to school so I can get this day over with! So can we go now? Please, Mom?" I asked her, annoyed, as I crossed my arms.

She didn't answer me. I was startled when Ricky came up behind me and put his hands around my waist. "Relax, Amy. It won't be that bad." He walked around to the other side of me so he could face me, my mom, and Ashley, and then he smiled as he moved a strand of hair away from my face.

"Yes it will." I said, whining, with no other expression on my face.

"No, Ricky's right, Amy. It'll be fine. It's a new school year, and you can't go into this new year with this attitude, or else it's only going to be bad because you're making it bad. This year will be better than last year was-" My mom stopped, not saying anything else as she remembered _Ricky_ was the one who made last year bad. I looked down at the floor, afraid to make eye contact.

No one said anything, so I finally broke the silence after I got the courage to look up. "Maybe you're right, but let's just go. I'll go get John. Come on, Ricky." I said. I grabbed Ricky's hand, and we both walked together into my room.

I picked up John out his bassinet and started walking towards the door, but then I stopped half way in my room when I saw Ricky standing motionless, looking down at the floor. Without looking at me, he said: "I promise I won't ruin this year for you. I'm sorry I did last year."

"No!" I began, "Ricky, you- you didn't ruin last year. I- I did. It's not your fault." I said, as I walked over beside him, carrying John with me.

He looked up at me. "No, _you_ didn't." He protested. "Don't spare my feelings, Amy. I'm sorry. But I promise this _will_ be a better year. It's just the beginning." He smiled a soft, gentle smile, and I kept repeating 'It's just the beginning' over and over in my head.

I shook my head at myself and at him. "You're right! This will be a better year. We're both being ridiculous here. I- I don't care.. even if you did make last year.. _bad_. But it eventually turned into a good thing. All that matters right now is that I love you, and that we're together."

I didn't like it when he felt like something was his fault, it didn't seem as bad as when _I did. _I looked into his eyes and smiled. He smiled back at me and said quietly in agreement, "That is all that matters. I love you, too. Forever. And don't worry about Ben or Adrian, Ben won't be mad at you- if that's what you're worried about, and Adrian will not come between us. I promise I won't let her."

I nodded. I could see honesty in his eyes, and I knew he was telling the truth. "I'm not worried about that anymore. I trust you." Actually, I was still a _little_ worried, but not as worried as I was before. I knew Ricky loved me, and I knew he wouldn't let Adrian or anyone ruin that, or at least I hoped. So this would be a good year- or not. But either way, I had to give it a try. It couldn't be as bad as last year, but then again, thinking back now it really wasn't as bad as it seemed before.

I put all my doubts and fear behind me. I grabbed Ricky's hand, holding John in my other, and pulled him out of my room and went to school.

We walked inside the school building together. The hallways were filled with high school students, who were noisily talking. We were a little late, but it didn't really matter since school always started later on the first day.

I made my way past the crowded hallway and over to my new locker. I opened it and just stared inside- it was completely empty. I put my stuff inside it and quickly slammed my locker shut. I turned back around and leaned against my locker and looked at everyone. I saw Lauren and Madison pass by, but they didn't see me, or care to look for me, anyway.

Ricky was over at his locker- which was on the other side of the hall. I thought about going over there, but I decided that he would come over here when he wanted to, so I just stayed here. Every other person that walked by shot me a dirty look, or maybe they were just curious, but it made me cringe for them to look at me that way. I guess I should be used to it, though, they did it all last year.

_**ADRIAN'S POV**_

I was over at my locker. I looked around for Ricky, but I couldn't see him. I saw Amy, so I wondered why he wasn't with her. I found Ben, and we both walked over to Ricky together.

"Why are you so late?" I asked, jealousy flashed through my face, as Ben stood beside me, appearing nervous.  
I glanced over at Ben for only a second and rolled my eyes, but then I looked back at Ricky. "Were you having sex with Amy?"

He pulled his eyebrows together. "What kind of question is that?"

"I think you know. I bet you were, weren't you? That's why you're late! I mean, who's late for the first day of school? Seriously, Ricky, you need to give up on her. You know you don't belong with her. The good girl and bad guy. It's just _awful_ pairing. That's why you belong with _me!_ Amy belongs with _Ben!_ They're married!"

Ben looked away and nervously glanced around the room. Ricky laughed at me when I said 'they're married'. "No they aren't! That wasn't even a real wedding- with fake Ids. I don't care what you say, anyway. I'm staying with Amy."

"So you were with her?" I asked, nodding to myself as I pursed my lips.

"Maybe." He answered. "I don't have to tell you. It's none of your business." He said coldly, anger and hatred filled his voice. I studied Ricky's face for a few seconds. He looked like he was completely over me. He was definitely _not_ the same Ricky that I used to know. He had changed, and unfortunately he loved Amy.

"Fine. Don't tell me. I don't really even care. I don't need you." I said angrily.

_**Ricky's POV**_

I didn't say anything. I simply nodded, and then I stood there and waited for her to leave me alone. I didn't care about her, and I wasn't even tempted by her anymore. She grumbled something to herself as she stomped off. Ben watched her, but then he looked back over at me. "I think I should go and talk to Amy. Is that okay? Not that I need your permission. I can talk to Amy whenever I want."

"I know. Go talk to her. You're right, you don't need my permission." I didn't really want Ben talking to Amy, because he'd try to make her stay away from me. But I trusted her, so I didn't mind.

_**Amy's POV**_

I saw Ben and Ricky talking about something. Adrian walked past me after she walked off from Ricky, and my heart was racing in my chest as I worried about what they were talking about. But Ben was with them, so it couldn't have been that bad. Ben was slowly walking towards me, looking nervous.

I brushed my fingers through my hair as he walked up to me. He smiled and said softly, "Hi Amy."

"Hi, Ben." I said. I didn't smile back at him, I kept a straight face. "Why were you and Adrian talking to Ricky?"

He sighed. "Well- I wasn't. I was just with Adrian. _Uh,_ it was really nothing. Adrian was just jealous, and she got mad when he didn't really seem to care, although I'm pretty sure he did. It was nothing, though. She got mad and-"

"Why were you with Adrian?" I asked him sharply, interrupting him.

"It's not what you think! I wasn't _with_ her, she just came up to me, and we went to talk to Ricky. That's all."

"Okay, I don't really care. So tell me, what do you want? If you think I'm coming back to you, then you're wrong. I'm staying with Ricky, so you might as well quit being jealous. It isn't doing anything for you. You and Adrian are better off. You're both extremely jealous, you both obsess over sex, so you have that in common." I told him, and finally, I was sure that I didn't love Ben anymore.

"How do I obsess over sex?" Ben asked. "I.. I'm not with Adrian. We never were together. Except that one time, but that was it. Anyway! I didn't come over here to talk to you about this, Amy. I wanted to apologize. I wanted to apologize for treating you and Ricky so badly. I- I can see he loves you. It's hard for me to take, but I'll get over it soon. I just want you to be happy. So if being with him is what makes you happy.. then go ahead. I won't come in between that anymore."

"Thank you," was my only reply. Ben nodded, and seeing that I wasn't going to say anything else, and I didn't want to talk to him anymore, he walked off.

I looked up to see Ricky walking towards me. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and stared at me for a second. I then walked over to him, and he grabbed me into his arms and said over my shoulder, "This is going to be a good day. You'll see."

I smiled and pulled away so I could look at him. "I know."

And after that, we went to class. For my first period class, I had Biology. We didn't really do anything, and that class went by fine. Second period, I had Geometry. All my classes seemed to race by, and before I knew it the day was over.

It wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. Maybe I was just overreacting when people were looking at me earlier, because everyone finally seemed to be over the fact that I had a baby with Ricky, who I was now with.

Ricky drove me to work and dropped me off, and then he went to work at the butcher shop. My mother picked me up later, and we drove home. I was going to get a car soon, hopefully. I could take the test soon, and if I passed, I could get my license and finally drive myself everywhere.

As we walked inside the house as we got home, I walked into the kitchen to feed John. My mom came up from behind me after a few minutes. "Amy, you know we need to talk." I turned around from where I was standing at the sink and looked at her.

"About what?" I asked. "Did I do something wrong? _Ugh,_" I grumbled as John started whining. He was tired. "Hold on." Then I picked up John from the counter and started to walk him back into my room and put him down so he could sleep. I walked back into the kitchen with my mom. "Okay, what?"

" We need to talk.. about _Ricky."_ She said after a few seconds.

Why did she want to talk to me about him? She was probably going to complain to me about how irresponsible I was being or something like that. I had an idea of what she wanted to say, but I pretended like I didn't know. "Why do you want to talk to me about Ricky?"

"Because I need to, once again, caution you. I don't want you to have sex with Ricky. And I know that you are. After everything that's happened, you should know to be more responsible." I groaned after she finished talking, but she ignored me.

"I am being responsible!" I snapped at her. "Mom, I'm sixteen years old. You can't exactly tell me what to do anymore. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, and you're just going to have to accept it one way or another."

"Amy! I will not accept it! You are not old enough to make your own decisions! Especially when you make _bad_ decisions!"

I rolled my eyes. "I do not make bad decisions, okay? Obviously you don't care if I sleep with Ricky. You found out we were alone at that cabin, and you didn't even make me come home right away. So apparently it doesn't really matter to you, or at least it didn't before."

She narrowed her eyes, but I ignored her and continued talking. "Mom, please just accept it. If you can't, then I really don't care." I wasn't trying to sound that harsh, but the words just came out and I couldn't stop them. I was tired of her repeatedly bothering me about this.

I didn't wait for her to answer. Instead, I angrily stomped off and walked into my room, and I saw Ricky climbing through the window.


	13. Chapter 13

I walked over to the window as Ricky came inside. After he closed the window, I said, "What are you doing here?" I instantly felt stupid for asking, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I came to see you, of course. If you want me to leave, I understand." He replied, trying to sound indifferent, but I could see through it.

"No, I don't want you to leave! Please don't. I'm sorry, I knew that was a stupid thing to ask. Don't leave. Please." I begged.

He laughed. "I'm not leaving, Amy."

I quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and I lay down on my bed. Ricky walked over and he lay down beside me. We were both quiet for a minute, but then I said, "My mother is mad at me, I think." He looked over at me curiously, and didn't say anything, so I continued. "She's mad at me because she thinks I'm having sex with you."

"Oh?" He said in a questioning tone. "But you _are_ having sex with me."

"Well, I know." I paused. "Um, but she doesn't want me to.. I guess she isn't really mad at me, but she keeps bothering me about that, and it's really getting on my nerves. I wish she would just accept it and move on.."

"I'm sure she'll get over it. But it's not like we have to tell her."

"That's true." I smiled.

I pushed Ricky down on the bed and I lay on top of him. I pressed my lips onto his and kissed him roughly. He kissed me back at first, but then he pushed me away after a few seconds. I stared at him with a hurt look on my face, and he said, "Amy, I'm not gonna do this while your Mom is in the living room."

"Why not?" I asked him. "We did before, and she didn't hear us."

"Yeah, well that was different."

"How?"

"Well for one thing, there was a storm that night. And maybe because it was really late and I didn't realize what I was doing."

"Ricky." I whined.

"Okay, okay." He said, laughing.

I laughed at his smirk, and then I quickly walked over to shut the door. I walked back over to the bed and got on top of him again. He threw his shirt onto the floor and kissed me, just like I did a few minutes ago before he had pulled away. I took off my clothes while he took off his, then I pressed my bare body to his, and he crushed his lips onto mine, moving them vigorously. But then he stopped abruptly. He narrowed his eyes and took me off of him, setting me beside him. I stared at him, confused.

I started to ask him what was wrong, but he placed his hand over my mouth. I couldn't imagine what had happened, did he hear something? I didn't. He couldn't have seen anything- it was pitch black dark in here.

"I hear someone coming." He whispered, moving his hand off of my mouth.  
"I don't." I whispered back at him.  
"Did you lock the door?"  
"I- I don't know." I replied nervously. I couldn't remember.  
"Well, go check." He told me.  
I nodded and blundered over to the door. I felt around the dark room so I wouldn't trip, and when I found the door knob I quickly locked it as I noticed it was unlocked. I stumbled back over to the bed. Ricky grabbed me into his arms and then gently shoved me down on the bed to lay on top of me.

He lightly traced down my neck with his tongue, and I was surprised since he'd never done that before. I felt uncomfortable, and a wave of embarrassment swept through me. I gently pushed him, but he didn't move, so I pushed him harder off of me. "Ricky, you said you hear someone coming? Who is it?"

"Oh!" He exclaimed after finally pulling away from me, raising his head up to look. "I don't know who it was, but I did hear someone comin'." He said it like he thought I was accusing him of lying, but I believed him. I just wanted to know who it was.

"Do you now?"

He put his hands on my chest as he lay on top of me and slightly raised himself upwards. He listened closely and whispered through a weak voice, panting as he was out of breath, "No. But that doesn't mean someone isn't listening at the door. Go make sure."

"Um.." I began, suddenly feeling embarrassed again. "Why can't you?"

"I'll come with you," he smirked.

"I can't just go out there like this!"

"Just get dressed and see." He whispered.

I sighed. "Fine."

We stood up from the bed, and although it was dark and Ricky couldn't even see me, I was still embarrassed. Although I knew I had no reason to feel this way, I was sometimes very insecure when I was with him. I didn't remember where I put my clothes, and I couldn't find them in the darkness. I thought about turning on the light, but then again I really didn't want Ricky to see me. I opened my drawer and pulled out what seemed to be a T shirt. I quickly put it on and slid on shorts that I found in the bottom drawer.

I pulled the door open and peeked out, but I didn't see anyone. I sighed and shut the door. "Ricky, I didn't see anyone."

"I swear I heard someone, Amy." He told me.

"I know. Maybe they left." I said, hopefully.

I crawled back into the bed, and Ricky rolled over and got on top of me. He put his hands around my waist and continued where he left off, but I felt very self-conscious as he traced his lips across my neck. "Ricky." I whispered, my voice ragged and shaky as I gasped for breath. He chuckled, but he seemed to take it as a sigh, and he didn't pull away.

"Ricky." I repeated, this time saying it louder, trying to stop him.

"What?" He asked, annoyed and impatient, as he pulled away.

"This is making me very self-conscious."

"What, why?" He asked, confused, but he went right back to kissing me, but this time he caressed with his lips starting at the top of my neck and going down until he reached the middle of my stomach. My breathing starting to accelerate, and my heart was pounding.

"Ricky." I whimpered.

He sighed loudly, his breathing become more rapid, and he said, "Amy, you're beautiful. You have nothing to be embarrassed about. We've done this- what- four times already, and you're still self-conscious?"

"Well it's still kind of new for me. You've done it probably a hundred times, so of course you wouldn't understand."

"Come on, Amy, don't be jealous. You know I only love _you_." He reassured me.

I nodded to myself, feeling stupid. "I know. I'm sorry, Ricky. I love you too."

He smiled and lowered himself down onto me. He buried his face into the pillow and put one hand on my shoulder, the other on the bed holding some of his weight up off me. He slowly started to move his body on top of mine and I glided along with him.

I dug my fingernails into his back as I pressed them hard against him. He became more aggressive as he crushed his lips onto mine, and I wrapped my legs around him. He kissed all the way down my throat and stopped when he got to my chest. He pulled himself up, and his eyes locked with mine.

He began to move faster as the tension was building up. I arched my back and closed my eyes as I became overwhelmed. I wanted nothing more at this moment than to be closer to him- if that were even possible. I wanted to live this moment forever, it was perfect. But of course, it had to end.

I suddenly felt a slump against me, and I opened my eyes and saw that Ricky had collapsed on top of me. He started to get up, but I quickly stopped him, but my voice only came out as a whisper, "No, stay here."

His weight was heavy on top of me, but I didn't even care. I just wanted him to stay there. He immediately noticed he had all his weight on me, and he moved himself slightly over to the left, but he kept his arm wrapped around me. The only noise that was audible in the room was the sound of our breathing. I watched him as he rapidly took in each breath- he looked so perfect.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps walking towards my door. Was that the noise Ricky heard earlier? Could they have been there the whole time? I heard the doorknob turn, and I closed my eyes tightly. But the door never opened- Thank God I remembered to lock it.

"Ricky?"

"Hm?" He asked, out of breath.

"Do you not hear that?"

"I don't know." He replied curiously. He rolled off of me in the bed and laid beside me. "Yes, now I do." He whispered.

I quickly stood up from the bed and put my clothes back on, and Ricky did the same. I hesitated but walked over to the door and opened it. And standing there was Ben, with an astounded look on his face.

"Can I help you?" I asked him.

"Uh, what's going on?" He asked, ignoring my question.

I shook my head and replied nervously, "Nothing."

"Obviously _something_ is going on or you wouldn't be acting so weird," he muttered. He folded his arms together and changed the subject, "Anyway, your Mother told me to come get you and tell you dinner is ready."

"Okay?" I said awkwardly, rolling my eyes. "What are you doing here? How long have you been standing there?"

"Can I not just come over to talk to you, Amy? I've been standing here for.. _uh, _just a few minutes."

"Oh," I said frantically and quickly changed the subject. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Um, Amy, I guess I should leave so you can talk to Ben alone. I'll see you later," Ricky suddenly said, which made my heart feel like it was going to explode. He started walking towards my door, but I stopped him.

"You don't have to leave just because Ben wants to talk to me."

"No, but I probably should. I'll just see you at school tomorrow. It's no big deal, Amy," he said, but I wasn't going to let him just leave. It was a big deal to me. I folded my arms together across my chest and pursed my lips together angrily.

"Well, I don't want you to leave," I whined, ignoring Ben as he looked at me and back at Ricky with his eyebrows scrunched together while he listened to me argue with him. Ben crossed his arms and appeared to be waiting impatiently.

"I'll be back later," he promised.

"What?!" Ben exclaimed. "You'll _be back later?_ Okay, I can not take it anymore! I know I shouldn't care, but I do. It's seven at night! Ricky shouldn't be over here every night and every morning and every day, Amy!"

"Butt out, Ben," I snapped at him.

He narrowed his eyes and huffed loudly to himself before murmuring in a low voice, "Fine."

I sighed as Ricky walked out of my door to leave, and Ben and I stood alone in the doorway of my room. He looked at me for a second, but after he figured out I wasn't going to say anything, he said, "Can I please, uh, come in your room?"

I stood quietly for a second and thought about it, but then I gave in, "Fine, come in, as long as you don't try to rape me or anything." He rolled his eyes and ignored my comment as I opened the door wider for him to come inside, and I left it open as we both walked into the middle of my room.

"Now what do you want?" I asked rudely.

"I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, and I was wrong. I still love you, Amy. I really do, but I'm giving up trying to win you back. I just hope we can at least be friends. If I promise not to interfere with you and Ricky anymore, could we please try to be friends?"

Ben and I as _friends?_ I wasn't sure how that would work out, but I decided that it was worth a try. I didn't want Ben completely out of my life, so this would be a good thing. _I think._ "Fine, Ben. We can be friends, but you should leave."

"Why?" He asked with a blank expression on his face.

"Because it's late. I'll just see you at school tomorrow," I answered him. He nodded and walked towards the door and said, "Bye Amy." I nodded and gave him enough time to leave before I went into the living room and saw my mother in the kitchen with my dad.

"Hey, Ames," my dad said to me.

I didn't say anything. My mom walked out of the room, and I waited a few seconds before saying, "You aren't mad at me?" I leaned against the counter and nervously folded my arms together as I waited for him to answer.

"Nope. Why would you think that?" He asked, confused.

"Because you hate Ricky, and you think I'm crazy for loving him." The truth was, I really didn't care whether he liked Ricky or not, but I still didn't really want him and my mom to be mad at me about it.

"Eh, I don't hate him. You aren't crazy. Sometimes love just happens, and there's really nothing you can do about it. But does he make you happy, Amy?"

"Yes, but-"

"But what?" He interrupted.

"But why aren't you mad at me? You seem to be taking this a _lot_ easier than Mom is for some reason. I just thought that you would yell at me about it, too."

"Nope, I'm not gonna yell. I hope you're being careful, though," he said before he headed out the kitchen door. I rolled my eyes and looked at the clock. It was only nine o'clock. I turned around when I saw my mom walking back in the room, and I nervously looked down at the floor.

"Mom, I'm sorry," I whispered quietly, not able to speak any louder.

"No you aren't, Amy. If you were sorry then you wouldn't keep making the same mistake over and over again." I sighed. Was she ever going to understand?

"I'm not making any mistake. I love him. Why can't you understand that?"

She sighed. "I do. I understand that you love him. Amy, I'm sorry. I guess I've just been so tired lately from being pregnant that I haven't even thought about that. But sometimes it just isn't enough that you love each other. Especially when you're only 16 with a baby, and you're with the same guy who caused all of this stress for you. I just don't understand why you'd want to be with him."

"The only reason I'm stressed is because of you. Have you ever thought for even a second that maybe Ricky and I are just meant to be together? John brought us together, and I'm glad he did. I'm glad I got pregnant, and I'm glad I have a baby. Sure, this family is dysfunctional, but I wouldn't take back what happened for anything. I just wish you'd understand that."

I rolled my eyes and stormed off into my room, shutting the door behind me. I instinctively smiled once I saw Ricky outside of my window. I walked over to the window and opened it, noticing that it was locked. After it was opened, he quickly climbed through.

"You came back," I said happily. I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. "I didn't think you would." I actually was worried that Ricky was with Adrian or someone while he was gone, but I knew I was probably stupid for thinking this.

"Of course I came back." He slowly pulled away and looked at me with confusion. "Why didn't you think I'd come back?"

"I don't know. I was just worried you wouldn't." I looked away for a second before I said, "W- where did you go when you left? Why did you even leave in the first place? You could have stayed.."

"I know, but I wanted you and Ben to be able to talk alone. I just went back to my apartment. Don't worry."

"You- you weren't with Adrian?" I asked.

He wrinkled his eyebrows together and said, "No. Of course not."

I groaned. "I'm sorry. There I go again, being jealous. I'm being ridiculous, I know, but I just can't help it. I'm sorry, Ricky. I just really don't know what I'd do if I lost you.." I looked down at the floor, but Ricky tilted my head back up to look at him.

"You aren't going to lose me. And don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for, Amy. I don't care if you're jealous, even if you have nothing to be jealous of," he assured me. I nodded and we were both silent for a moment before he said, "So.. what do you want to do?"

I shrugged my shoulders and replied, "I don't know."

He smirked and picked me up into his arms and carried me to the bed. He put me down on the other side of the bed, and he lay beside me. I leaned over and put my head on Ricky's shoulder. He smiled and said, "So what did Ben say?"

"Oh," I said, surprised by his question. "Um, he apologized and asked me to at least be his friend, so I guess we're kind of friends now. I'm not sure how that's going to be work, but I guess we'll see."

"Oh," he chuckled.

I sighed and after a few seconds said, "I wish this was easier."

"Hm?," he murmured.

"I wish.. our relationship was easier, and we didn't have to sneak around all the time. It's really hard. After Ben left, I talked to my dad, and he was actually taking this a lot easier than my mother was. I just don't understand what's with her lately."

"Yeah, I agree," he said. I heard him laugh a low chuckle. He waited a few seconds before continuing, but finally said, "Want to move into my apartment with me?"


	14. Chapter 14

"Want to move into my apartment with me?" He asked. I froze in silence, causing him to chuckle as he shook his head. "I knew I'd get that reaction from you if I asked that question."

"I just-" I paused, thinking of what to say. "I just didn't expect that. You're actually serious, or are you just joking? My mom would never, _ever_ in a million years let me move in with you in your apartment, especially now that she's so upset with me."

He laughed again and said smugly, "I think in a million years you would have been moved out of this house by then, don't you think?"

"Ricky!" I somewhat laughed along with him, although annoyed by his comment, as I gently shoved him. "I would _love_ to move in with you, but I don't my mom would let me. But if you wanna try to convince her to let me live with you, then go ahead," I smiled.

"I will," he said, returning a smile. "But, I think I should leave. It's really late, and I don't think your mom would be happy if I stayed..," he trailed off, as he saw the expression on my face turn into a scowl.

"Oh, I see. You're just going to leave again? You just came back from wherever you were before," I stopped and took a deep breath before continuing, trying not to get too worked up. But it wasn't successful. "What? Are you going back to see Adrian again?"

"No," he shook his head slowly as he sat up from the bed. Instead of sitting up beside him, I continued to lie there as I looked away from him, pursing my lips together. "I'm not going to see Adrian. I was never over there tonight."

"Yeah right," I muttered under my breath, but it was so quiet in the room that he could hear me. "Who are you trying to fool now? Me or you?"

He scrunched his eyebrows together and groaned silently as he raised his voice angrily, "I'm not trying to fool anyone! It's just really late, and-"

"Why aren't I good enough for you? Why do you always have to run off to Adrian? If you love her so much, then why don't you just get _her_ to move into your apartment with you! She's probably already been over there more than I have anyway! Oh wait, yeah she has, because I've only been over there once! Just go, Ricky. You're gonna do whatever you want anyway, so just leave me alone."

"Amy, I'm not-"

"I don't care," I interrupted him. "I don't care about your lies, so get out." I waited a few seconds, but he made no movement as he sat there with an appalled and bewildered look on his face. Suddenly, tears began to well up into my eyes. I sniffled and yelled, "Just get out of here!" I quickly covered my mouth with my hand as I realized I was too loud. I turned over in the bed and buried my face into the pillow as I cried.

"Amy, please stop. You're over-reacting," he said.

He put his hand on my back, and I pulled myself up off the pillow and pushed him off of me. I yelled angrily with hatred in my voice, "Go away!"

He pulled back and froze where he was standing for a moment, and then I heard him say, "Fine." I listened closely as I heard him walking out, and I heard my bedroom door being slammed shut behind me.

I felt like my heart had been shattered into a million pieces. I didn't really think that Ricky wasn't going to get with Adrian, but I just couldn't help myself from worrying about it sometimes. But now I've messed up everything up, he's probably never going to want to talk to me again.

I buried my face back into the picket and cried so hard until I couldn't cry anymore, and then I fell asleep.

____

_**Ricky's POV**_

I woke up in the morning in my apartment, and I turned to look at the clock; it was seven in the morning. I groaned and pulled myself out of the bed. I felt empty now that Amy was mad at me, but I was a little upset at her for jumping to conclusions like that. I had gotten over it already, though, but I hoped she would.

I quickly got dressed, and I didn't even bother eating breakfast. I locked my apartment door on my way out, got in my car, and I drove off to school. There was only one thing on my mind, and that was Amy. How frustrating and sometimes stubborn she was. How much she over-reacted and took things way too seriously. But how absolutely beautiful and wonderful she was. I know that sometimes she didn't think I thought that way, but I really did, and I wanted her to know it.

I shouldn't have left last night. I should have stayed. I know that's what she probably wanted me to do, or at least I hope that's what she wanted me to do. I should have fought with her and argued until she got over it, she would have gotten over it if I had just stayed with her.

Suddenly, I noticed someone standing by me. I pulled out of my thoughts, startled, and looked up to see Adrian. I was standing in the doorway of the school building. I looked around to see if I saw Amy. I saw Ashley talking to Griffin, and Grace and Jack were talking by their locker. Not seeing Amy, I finally decided to face Adrian.

She smiled a small smirk and said slowly, with slight nervousness in her voice, "Hi, Ricky."

_What did she want?_ Was she ever going to get it across her mind that I'm not interested anymore? After looking down at the floor, I looked back up and pursed my lips together. I nodded and finally replied, "Hi, Adrian."

I could tell she wasn't nervous anymore when she spoke, because she was talking as if she was annoyed. She rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms together across her chest and muttered, "Where's Amy?"

I shook my head and scowled at her. "I don't know. She's either here, at her house, or on her way to school. What do you care?"

She looked a little offended at first, but quickly hid it and said, "I care because.. because I still care about _you_!"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Well, you have Ben, right? You and Ben are better off than you and me are. And Amy and I are better together. That's just the way it is."

She snorted and laughed. "Ben?" She said, confused. "We are not together! And we never were!"

I raised an eyebrow at her in disbelief, and she continued, "We weren't! I would never sleep with Ben. Either way, you know I don't belong with him. I belong with you. I'm a bad girl, and you're a bad boy. We fit together."

I shook my head. "Not anymore. I'm not bad anymore." I raised my eyebrow and smirked. "Except with Amy."

"Oh, please!" She exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Ricky, just stop pretending! You aren't fooling anyone. Especially not me. Just come over tonight," she growled seductively. She put her hand around my neck and pulled herself closer to me before mumbling close to my ear, "You'll have fun. I promise."

I looked away and didn't push her off. I swallowed nervously, trying to restrain myself from being tempted by her, but it was hard. I thought I was over that. Then, she did something that was making it almost impossible for me to resist. She ran her hand through my hair before pressing her lips to mine, and I still didn't push her away. I kissed back, knowing it was wrong.

_No, no, no! Don't fall for her!_ I told myself. Finally, I pulled myself together and pushed her away. I couldn't let that happen. Adrian was never going to give it up, but I was just going to have to ignore her when she tries seducing me. I looked behind me, and of course, I saw Amy standing behind me. Of course she had to come up at a time like this. Of course.

She crossed her arms, and I saw tears welling up in her eyes. She turned around and stormed off in the opposite direction, but I loosened Adrian's grip off of me and raced after her and yelled, "Amy! Please wait!" I caught up to her, and she turned around and scowled at me.

"What do you want? If you're just gonna tell me that she kissed you, and you had nothing to do with it, then don't even waste your time. I knew you couldn't be trusted. You promised you wouldn't cheat on me again!" She exclaimed, tears starting to roll down her cheek.

"I didn't cheat on you!" I yelled at her harshly. She reacted and started to walk off, but I quickly stopped her and pulled her back by her arm. "Amy, just listen to me!" I yelled again, not caring how harsh I was being to her. "I didn't cheat on you, okay? Adrian kissed me, and I pushed her away, didn't you see?"

"Yes," she spat back at me. "I _did_ see! But that doesn't mean you wanted to push her away. I know you didn't."

I sighed and said truthfully, "Well, by instinct I didn't want to push her away, but I did. Amy, I'm a man."

She rolled her eyes and said, her voice cracking, "Whatever. I don't even care. You'd rather be with Adrian anyway."

After she said that, she turned around and walked off quickly. I stood there for a second watching her, but then I quickly ran after her again. I pulled her by the arm, but she, with her back turned towards me, pushed me off. But I didn't let her go. Forcefully, I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her closer to me. I saw Ben on the other side of the hallway, he was walking toward our direction, staring at me. But I didn't care.

"Let me go!" She shouted at me.

"Let me talk to you!" I shouted back to her, just as harsh as she was. She pushed away from me and turned around to face me. She stepped back a foot or two and folded her arms together before saying, "Fine. Talk."

"I don't care about Adrian, and I know that you know that. You can't just keep being so- so jealous and worrying about if I'm cheating on you or not. You have to trust me when I say that I'm not going to cheat on you. Amy, I love you, and I'm sorry Adrian kissed me."

"You can't honestly except me to believe that," she said. I gave her a confused look and she sighed. "You can't except me to believe that you don't care about Adrian. I know, and everyone else knows, that you're interested in Adrian at least a little bit. You can't have sex with someone so many times and not feel anything for them."

"Yeah you can," I muttered. "_I can. _I've had sex a lot and not cared about the girl-" I stopped when Amy gave me an appalled look. She pursed her lips together and looked away from me, but I ignored her reaction and continued, "Okay, I shouldn't have told you that. But you already knew that anyway."

"Yeah I did already know it so you didn't have to bring it up!" She snapped furiously at me.

I looked away and sighed, "Amy.."

I snapped my head up as soon as I heard the bell rang. I looked up at Amy and said, "I guess I'll see you later. Come over after work if you want to, but if you don't I understand. I love you." I leaned in to kiss her, and I slowly pulled away.

_**Amy's POV**_

Ricky pulled away after kissing me, and I turned around and walked off to class. When I saw him kissing Adrian, I actually could feel my heart stop. It hurt just as bad as when I went over to Adrian's condo that night Ricky was over there. It hurt that much, even though it was only a kiss.

School dragged by slowly, but I was thankful that I was half-way through the school year already. It had gone by quicker than I thought. Since I was sixteen now, I could finally drive. I was in my car now, a new, silver SUV. My mother bought it for me on my sixteen birthday. She told me it was expensive, but I needed it so I'd have room for John and all of his stuff when we went somewhere.

I was just leaving work at the daycare, and John was in the back of the SUV in his carseat. I stopped the car once I reached the driveway. I opened the door of the drivers side and shut the door, walking over to the back of the car to take out John. I unbuckled his seatbelt and slid him out of the carseat and carried him up to the door. I was at my house now, and I was hopefully going to get Ashley to watch John for me for the night so I could go over to Ricky's.

My mom and dad had gotten back together, and we all live in the same house now, except Ashley has her own room in the garage. My dad fixed up the garage, so it doesn't look so much like a garage anymore. My mom was 8 and a half months pregnant, so she was due really soon.

"Ashley?" I called to her, reaching the doorway of her room. She looked up at me and I continued, "Will you please watch John for me to tonight?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Because I need you to," I said. "Ashley, please! Give me a break and watch John for me! It's just one night! I'll be back in the morning, okay? Please?" She rolled her eyes and stood up from her bed, and I took that as a yes. She took John from me and I said, "Thanks."

"Mmhmm," she murmured.

I walked toward the door of the garage to leave, and I saw my mom and dad sitting on the couch. "Where are you going" She asked.

I turned around for a second and looked at them, but then I answered, "Ricky's." I turned around and didn't even wait for her or Dad to answer, because the truth was that I didn't care what they thought.

I raced outside in the dark night- it was nearly ten or eleven o' clock. I got into my car and quickly shut and locked the car door. I put the key into the ignition and drove to Ricky's house. Once I got there, I parked in the driveway and walked inside. I reached his apartment, and I nervously knocked on the door. I waited a few seconds and stood there with my arms folded together. I was still extremely irritated with Ricky, but I wanted to come over here. I wasn't going to be mad at him forever.

The door suddenly opened, and Ricky was standing there looking surprised. I looked at him for a second, but then said emotionlessly, "Hi."

He smiled and repeated after me, "Hi." He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me into a hug. "I'm so glad you came."

"Are you really?" I asked.

"Of course I am," he said. "I was worried you wouldn't. I'm so sorry, Amy," he said over my shoulder.

After he pulled away, I had already given up trying to stay mad at him. I couldn't help it. I was over it already, but I wasn't going to let him know that. I pretended to look mad, but he looked as if he knew I really wasn't, and I muttered, "Mhm. Don't apologize to me, just get in your room." I was surprised at how demanding I sounded.

He smirked. "Okay, but where's John?"

"He's with Ashley. I made her watch him," I said. Ricky nodded quickly and picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. He pressed his lips to mine and kissed me while he walked with me to his room. He gently put me down on the bed and I lay back against the pillow. I took his shirt roughly in my hands and started pulling at it. He helped me and took it off and threw the shirt on the floor. He slid his jeans off and also tossed them on the floor before he crawled into bed and sat up. He unbuttoned the buttons of my shirt and pulled it off, and he took off the rest of my clothes after his.

He lay on top of me and pressed his bare body to mine and kissed me roughly and passionately. He pulled away between breaths and said, "You know, we have to wake up to go to school in like six hours."

I shrugged my shoulders and sighed, "Eh, oh well." He laughed and continued to kiss me down my neck. He pulled away for only a second as he looked at me and said, "So does this mean I'm forgiven?"

I smiled. "You will be."

____

When I woke up, I saw Ricky awake beside me. I pulled down the covers to look at myself; I was wearing Ricky's T shirt. I didn't even remember putting that on.

"Good morning," he said.

"Good morning," I said back to him. Ricky started to stand up, and I quickly threw my legs over the bed. I groaned as I felt lightheaded and my head spun when I stood up. I waited a few seconds for it to pass, and then I picked up my jeans off the floor and slid them on. I looked around the room, and I didn't see Ricky, so I figured that he wasn't in here anymore. I walked in front of the bed and over to the mirror that was in the corner of the room.

I pulled out my phone which was still in my pocket, and I looked at the time- five thirty. So there were two hours before i had to pick up John from my house and go to school. I looked at myself in the full length mirror and contemplated whether I would wear Ricky's shirt to school or not. I smiled and finally decided I would; it was simply just a blue T shirt. Everyone would know it was Ricky's, but I didn't care. I was actually kind of looking forward to seeing what people would say.

I saw Ricky walking back into the room, but for some reason I was still surprised when he came up to me and grabbed me around the waist. I jumped a little, and he pulled away and looked as if he was about to say something about his shirt I was wearing, but I quickly evaded the subject. "Ricky?"

"Hm?" He asked, sounding dazed.

I quickly thought of something to say. "I don't feel like going to school today," was the first thing I thought of. And it was true. I didn't feel like going. I would rather just stay here all day. "Let's stay here."

"And what would people say if they saw we were both gone at the same time?"

"They'd think we were together," I told him happily. He just stared at me and I sighed and changed the subject. I guess I had to go to school. "I- I think I should talk to my mom. Last night, her and Dad were sitting on the couch in the garage, and I just kind of walked out. I didn't wait for her to say anything. I knew she wouldn't let me come over here. But she didn't call me or anything so I guess that's good, right?"

He nodded. "I guess. Or maybe she was just too mad to call you."

"I think she would call either way." I turned to look at the mirror again. I ran my fingers through my hair and it was all knotted. I didn't feel like brushing my hair, I knew it would be almost impossible for me to get the knots out. I didn't know why, but I was so tired this morning. More tired than usual. I suddenly remembered what Ricky asked me the other night, and I said, "I wish I could live here with you."

I saw him smile in the mirror. "You can."

After giving up untangling my hair with only my fingers, I turned around and folded my arms together. "You're right. I should be able to. You, me, and John should be able to live together. I'll go talk to my mom about it now."


	15. Chapter 15

"Good morning, Dad," I nervously told him as I walked through the living room door. My mother was now on bed rest, so she probably wouldn't be in the best mood right now, her being over eight months pregnant. My dad was sitting on the couch, looking as if he had been waiting on me to get home. I told Ricky to wait in the car, because I didn't want my parents getting even more upset at me.

"Morning, Ames," he finally told me. He sighed as he stood up from the couch, and he slowly walked closer to me. "You know, leaving John with your sister and then just running out was not a very smart thing to do."

I pretended to look confused. "I told you where I was going, though. I thought you were okay with it?"

"Okay with what?" He exclaimed, looking angry. "Okay with you having sex with Ricky? I'm definitely _not_ okay with it! I didn't know you still were! I thought it was only those two times. Band camp and-"

"I'm sorry," I cut him off. "But I thought you knew, and you were okay with it." I folded my arms across my chest and pursed my lips together as I scowled, "Jeez, I thought I actually had _one _person who understood, but I guess I was wrong."

"No, I don't understand. I understand why you want to be with him. I understand that you say you love him. But I don't understand how you could make this same mistake again with the _same_ guy!" He let out a breath and seemed to calm down. "I just can't believe it, Ames. I can't believe you could actually like _Ricky_."

"_I love him,"_ I corrected him in a sharp tone. "I don't care what you think. I know you want me to be with Ben and marry him and live happily ever after, but that's just not going to happen. I don't want it to happen. I want to be with Ricky forever. I love him, Dad. I love him more than I thought I could ever love anyone. This year has been really hard, and I thought I could never get used to it. Having a baby. But then Ricky came along, and- and everything was better. I don't feel ashamed anymore for what happened, and I don't care that I'm a teen mother. I've been with Ricky for eight months, and I like being with him. I like having a baby." After I finished talking, I stopped suddenly and was surprised by the truth of my own words. This was the first time that I ever said this to anyone. Although I already knew it was the truth before, I never really thought about it, but it finally came out when I spoke. _To my dad._

"I know you love him, Ames," he told me. "But eight months isn't as long as you think it is. He could still change his mind, and so could you."

"I'm not going to change my mind," I snapped at him firmly. "I'm just gonna go talk to Mom. There's something I need to ask her."

I didn't wait for his response. Instead, I trudged out of the room and walked into my mom's room. I thought of going to find John, but I figured he was with Ashley, and she was taking care of him. I would go after I talked to my mother.

"Mom?" I said quietly, walking into her room. She was lying on her bed with our dog, Moose. Our dad recently tried to get rid of him, but my mom grew attached to him. I have to admit, though, that so did I.

"Hey, Amy," she said. She didn't look mad, but I wasn't one-hundred percent sure.

I stood there silent for a moment, but finally said, "I- I'm sorry for walking out like that yesterday. I knew you wouldn't let me go to Ricky's if I asked. It was just something I had to do." She wrinkled her eyebrows together and was about to say something, but I spoke before she could, "I.. I wanted to ask you something..."

"Well, go ahead and ask me, Amy."

I nodded and took a deep breath as I looked restlessly down at the floor for a second. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked back up, but I couldn't look into her eyes. I was afraid of how angry she would get after I asked her. "I.. I was wondering if it would be okay if-" I sighed and paused before I continued. "If.. John and I moved into Ricky's apartment."

She looked at me with disbelief and then laughed. "You're kidding, right? You can't actually expect me to let my sixteen year old daughter move in to her boyfriend's apartment."

"Why? I have a baby! I'm basically an adult, and I should be able to make my own decisions."

"Amy, I'm tired, and I don't feel like discussing this now," she complained.

I rolled my eyes. "Now you know how I felt."

"Yes, I do know how you felt! I've been through that two times already!" She groaned and changed the subject. "Look, just go get ready for school. If you don't feel like driving, get your dad to drive you. Or Ricky. We'll talk about this later."

I ignored the part she said about school and asked, "Promise?"

She paused, looking like she was thinking about it for a moment. "Yes, I promise. Just go get ready!"

"Okay!" I exclaimed happily. I wasn't convinced that she was actually going to let me move in with Ricky, but she at least agreed to talk about it. So there was some chance of it. I raced out of her room, and when I was in the living room, I looked towards the kitchen and saw Ashley. She must have came in shortly after I did. She was standing in the kitchen holding John. She and Dad were talking about something, but I didn't hear what their conversation was about. They were both staring at me, and I figured that they were talking about Ricky and me.

"Thanks for watching him for me, Ashley," I told her. I walked into the kitchen with her and gently took John into my arms. "Um, I guess-" I stopped, thinking of something to say. "I guess I'll see you at school." I instantly regretted saying this. I really didn't want to go to school. Maybe I could talk Ricky into skipping school with me, but that was probably a bad idea.

Ashley stood there and didn't say anything, so I walked toward the door while saying, "Bye Dad," and I shut the door behind me and walked over to Ricky's car. I opened the back seat, and I set John down in his car seat. I shut the door and opened the door to the passenger seat and got inside. Ricky started the car, and as he drove down the driveway onto the road he asked, "So, what'd she say?"

I fumbled with the seatbelt before finally fastening it, and I looked over at Ricky. "She said we'd talk about it later. After work and after I pick up John from daycare, I'll go home and try to talk to her about it again."

"I could pick up John for you if you don't want to go to work today."

"Okay," I agreed. I definitely did not want to go to work, but I wasn't sure yet if I would go or not. I quickly changed the subject. "You know, we could just skip school today. One day isn't going to make a difference."

"I wish we could skip school, but we should probably go. This is the last day and then we have the whole weekend. If your mom finds out about you not going to school, she definitely won't let you move in with me," he said. I sighed. This was true, even though I don't think she's going to let me anyway.

"Well, are you going to work today?"

He glanced over at me. "No. Ben will be fine at the butcher shop. I haven't even missed one day since I've been working there. I think I can take off today."

"And we'll be together the whole weekend, right?"

"Of course," he said as he pulled into the parking lot of the daycare, and I went inside and took John to the nursery. After I got back outside, it had started raining. The sky was dark; the sun was covered by clouds, and it was also thundering. I ran quickly back to the car and got in, and we drove off again. Once we reached the school, we both got out of the car. We were almost late; we only had a few minutes to get to class. I quickly ran in the building to my locker and got my books and went hurriedly to class.

The day went by very quickly, surprisingly, because the whole day I couldn't get off of my mind how much I wanted to get out of school and be home, so where I could talk to my mom. I was hopeful that she'd let me move in with Ricky, but I really didn't think she would let me.

-

The ride home to school took fifteen minutes. I went inside, and my dad and Ashley were sitting on the couch. I didn't even bother talking to them. They both stared at me, but I ignored them and headed straight for my room.

I sighed and shut the door as I walked inside my room. I locked it and walked over to my bed. I lay down on the bed and just stared at the ceiling, not knowing what else to do. I sat up as I heard a knock at the door. I threw my legs over the bed and stood up, and I groggily walked over to the door, wondering why I was so tired. I opened the door, and Ricky was standing there holding John. "Hey, Ricky."

He smiled. "Hey," and he wrapped his hand around mine and pulled me into the nursery with him. We walked to the middle of the room where John's crib was, and Ricky gently put him down in it. Then he quickly scooped me up off the ground and into his arms and raced quickly out of the nursery into my room. He kicked open my door as we got there and slammed it, forgetting how loud it sounded. He locked the door and set me down on the bed.

"Ricky, my mom and dad and Ashley are here!"

"I don't care," he said coldly. I sat up, and he sat on the bed and started kissing me on the lips.

I pushed him away. "You did before, remember?" He finally pulled me to the middle of the bed to lie down, and he hovered over me, his breathing increasing as he said, "Well they don't even know we're here. They think we're at work."

He held himself over me to keep the weight off and I said, "Well I think they know we're here now since you're making so much noise! If you wanted to be secretive about this you could've at least not have slammed the door!" I smiled.

He slightly smiled back, but I could tell he was impatient as he stared at me. "Come on, Amy," he growled desperately, breathing even harder now. His eyes were begging, and I could see how weak he was becoming. "I want you," he groaned.

"Fine," I sighed and gave in. "But it's your fault if we get caught. Now go turn the light off," I demanded.

"Okay," he smirked and got off of me. I wanted him to turn off the light. I still wasn't comfortable with him seeing me naked, although it wasn't completely dark so turning the light off wouldn't help much since it was only four o' clock.

The lights flickered off and Ricky walked back over to the bed. He got in the bed and crawled over to me. I sat up and my back was facing towards the head board. I threw my hands agressively around Ricky's neck and pulled at his shirt. I nervously started to unbutton some of the buttons, but it took me a while because my hands were trembling nervously. Ricky smiled gently, and it calmed me down a little. I finally unbuttoned the last button and threw his shirt onto the floor.

Ricky pulled away and rolled over and sat over the bed and slid his jeans off with only his boxers on. He swung his legs back on the bed. He put his hands on my waist and pulled me over to the middle of the bed and I lay down against the pillow. He pulled himself on top of me and hung over me as he delicately pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it down on the floor. Then this time, agressively, he un hooked my bra and let it fall to the bed. Our breathing was increasing, but his was still impatient. He crushed his lips to mine and i moved them vigorously with his. He struggled as he pulled away between breaths and slid off my jeans, getting rid of the rest of our clothes. He tossed everything aside and pressed his body down onto mine.

___

He rolled off of me and lay back beside me, both of us exhausted. The first thing I noticed was that it was dark outside. I turned in the bed to Ricky and asked, "What time is it?" There was a clock in my room, but it was too dark and I couldn't see it. I was too tired to get up and look myself.

He looked at his watch. "It's seven."

I looked at him with a shocked look on my face and exclaimed too loudly, not remembering that I had to keep my voice down, "It's seven o' clock?! We've been having sex for _three hours?!_"

"_Sh,"_ he quieted me.

"I still need to talk to my mom," I stated.

He reached for my hand and held it tightly and said, "You can talk to her tomorrow."

"Yeah.. but I think I want to talk to her tonight. I _really_ want to move in with you, I just hope she'll let me. I think I'll go talk to her now," I told him, as tired as I was, I was really anxious to talk to her now. I didn't even wait for his reply. I stood up from the bed and ran quietly over to the door and looked back at him and whispered, "I'll be right back."

I shut the door, leaving him in there alone. I walked down the hall, and I saw my dad lying on the couch. But I ignored him and walked to my mom's room.

I opened the door to her room and nervously said, "Mom? Can I talk to you? You said you'd talk to me about this later.."

She sighed. "Okay, Amy."

I left the door open and stood there with my arms folded together. She just stared at me, but I didn't say anything. "You know moving in there is a really bad idea. You're only sixteen, Amy. I know you and Ricky are really serious right now, but I don't think you should live with him, even if you have a baby."

"Mom, _please,"_ I begged her, and she looked at me, and I knew she could see the desperation in my eyes. "I know I'm only sixteen, but so what? There's only a few months of school left, so it's not that long until I turn seventeen. Please, please let me move in with him! Please, mom!"

"Amy.." she grumbled. "Not now. You're too young. Maybe in a year or-"

"Ricky's foster parents let _him_ move out! So let me move out! Let me live with him! I should be able to make my own decisions! I'm an adult! Why does everyone have to make everything so difficult? You're gonna have a baby, and you have Ashley. So you don't need me here! I'm all grown up, mom! I'm an adult and I have a baby! I need to get out of this house. I want to get out. I want to live with Ricky."

"You aren't an adult!" She yelled at me. She sighed as she looked at the angry look on my face and the impatient, irritated look in my eyes. "Fine, you can move in with him." My face instantly lit up with a huge grin and she cut me off before I said anything, "_But! _But, I want you over here in the mornings before you go to school, and you can go back over there when you get home from work. You aren't an adult, Amy, and you can't completely live on your own."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you so much, Mom! I love you so much! Thank you!" I said in a high, excited voice. I quickly hugged her and thanked her again as I ran out of her room, an enormous smile on my face.

I ran down the hallway, and I looked over at my dad to see him looking curiously at me. But I didn't say anything, and I ran into my room and pulled open the door. "Ricky, she said I can move in with you!"


	16. Chapter 16

Well, I'm sorry I haven't updated in _forever. _I've just been having writers block. Oh, and just to let you know, this story only has a few chapters left, so I'll be ending it soon. I'll probably end it around the 19 or 20th chapter. So anyways, I hope you like this chapter. Sorry it's kind of short..

Please review! I want around ten reviews before I update.

=D

__

Four months have gone by, and John and I live with Ricky in his apartment after I _finally_ got my mom to agree to it. I've already turned seventeen a month ago, and I just started the eleventh grade while Ricky recently graduated high school. I go home (with my mom, my dad, and Ashley) every morning before school, just like my mom told me to do. So I mostly live with Ricky, but I still have to come home with them in the mornings, but then I get to go back to _our_ apartment.

"Hey," Ricky said after walking through the door. Right now I'm sitting on his couch (okay, it's mine too, but it just feels weird saying that for some reason), and I was waiting for him to get home from work or wherever. I didn't feel like working today, so I just didn't go.

"Hey," I whispered quietly. I was so tired, but I wasn't even sure why, which is weird. Maybe I was getting some kind of awful disease that makes you feel constantly tired.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yep, I'm fine. I'm just really tired for some reason," I said, but then I changed the subject. "Why are you so late? It's like eleven o'clock. You never work that late."

"Well, we were just busy today," he answered and looked nervously away. I stared at him suspiciously and curiously, wondering why he was acting so strange and kept looking away like he was hiding something.

"Yeah right," I muttered sarcastically. "It's a butcher shop. Since when are you _busy_? You get off at five, and you expect me to believe that you worked five more hours than you were supposed to?"

"Uh.." he looked like he was about to say something, and I looked curious, but then he just shook his head. "Nevermind."

I shot a confused look at him. "Nevermind? Why? What's wrong? Why won't you tell me?"

He looked annoyed. "It's nothing, okay? Really, I wasn't even going to say anything. I was just gonna tell you to calm down, because there's nothing wrong. We were just busy today, I know you think that's weird since we're never busy, but we were today. Everything's fine, and there's nothing to tell you, so don't get worked up over nothing."

I narrowed my eyes as he walked out of the room and then I just decided I was too tired to try to make him tell me. It might not be anything. He's probably just having a bad day. _Whatever_, I shrugged, dropping the situation.

I got up from the couch and walked down the hall to the bedroom and saw Ricky in there, and he turned around when he saw me. Okay, so something was definitely wrong. I was really tired, but more important, I was really curious as to what his problem was.

"Okay, something is wrong with you. Why are you acting like this?" I asked him.

He sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you that _nothing is wrong?_"

"Well, don't tell me that," I snapped. "I want you to tell me the truth. Obviously something is wrong."

He shook his head and faked a smile. "Nothing's wrong."

"Ricky, cut the crap," I said, annoyed. "Tell me what the heck is wrong with you. You don't get home until eleven o'clock at night, and you think I'm gonna believe nothing's wrong? Just go ahead and tell me! I know you're hiding something."

He sighed. "Okay, well I was gonna wait and ask you later, but.."

"Ask me what?" I asked, intrigued, but completely confused about what was going on.

He took a huge, nervous breath, and then I couldn't even breath when I saw Ricky getting down on one knee. My heart beat was racing, and I could hear it thudding as my breath was caught in my throat.

I felt my heart stop when he pulled out a small, black box and opened it up, revealing a beautiful, golden ring. "Amy, I know you're only seventeen, but I really don't care. I know that I've treated you wrong in the past, but I've changed and I'll never go back to the way I was before. I'm only 18, but I've already decided, and I want you. I want you and John forever, and I'll never love anyone like I love you. Will you marry me?"


	17. Chapter 17

I'm so sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've been in this tedious program at my school that's taken up about ninety-percent of my time. Anyway, this chapter is long so I hope no one's mad about the long wait. I promise I'll update really soon after this chapter and I'll even throw in an extra chapter before I end this story. :) I hope you're all still reading and you'll review. I don't know if anyone likes this story anymore since it's been so long since I've updated? But I hope you enjoy!

:D

__

_I felt my heart stop when he pulled out a small, black box and opened it up, revealing a beautiful, golden ring. "Amy, I know you're only seventeen, but I really don't care. I know that I've treated you wrong in the past, but I've changed and I'll never go back to the way I was before. I'm only 18, but I've already decided, and I want you. I want you and John forever, and I'll never love anyone like I love you. Will you marry me?"_

I stood there frozen in shock. This was the last thing I expected tonight. My heart was pounding and I was at a loss for words. I shifted my weight up from where I was holding on to the side of the bed, and I looked away from Ricky as my head spun. I glanced at him for a second and around the room, and then I stuttered, "I- I need to get out of here."

And then I flew out of the bedroom and out the door, and I ran as fast as I could so he wouldn't be able to catch me even if he tried. I stopped when I was a block away from the butcher shop, and then I slowed to a walk, walking across the street along side a row of stores lined up. Coming up was a McDonald's and a bank past that.

I sighed. I didn't want to run away, but I didn't know what else to do. I was definitely not expecting him to propose to me, and I honestly did not know what to think about that. I mean, sure, I wanted to marry him. I loved him, but it was way too much so soon.

It was like everything that had happened the past year had suddenly caught up to me and hit me in the face like a gust of wind. Married after just a year in a relationship? I couldn't even imagine it. My parents were already not happy with me; yes, I was still coming home to see them in the mornings before school, missing a couple of days here and there, but the point was that I did mostly what they asked me to do.

I shook my head, not wanting to feel like this. It just then hit me when he proposed to me that my life could tragically change forever had I accepted. I couldn't help but imagine Ricky in my head, him sitting on the bed or on the floor, devastated or miserable. Or maybe he wasn't taking it so bad?

Maybe he expected me to say no, or maybe it was just a test and he really didn't want to marry me.

_No_, I decided. He wouldn't ask me to marry him unless he meant it. But this was Ricky Underwood, I had to remind myself. He was eighteen years old, and he just proposed to me after we've been together only a little over a year. Of course I wanted to be with him, but one thing I knew for sure and that was that I wasn't ready to get married.

I groaned when it started pouring down rain, and I quickly pulled up my hood. I ran through the McDonald's parking lot where there were only three cars parked, which I understood since it was around eleven at night, and I stepped up the single concrete step and pushed open the double glass doors of the fast food restaurant.

_Okay,_ I would go in to get out of the rain and just sit down so I could think a while. And then maybe I would go back to Ricky's apartment. _Or I could stay with my parents_. I sighed and walked across the room, and some lady sipping on coffee, sitting beside her daughter who was eating ice cream, smiled at me.

I nodded and gave a small smile, and then I went to the back of the store and sat in a booth beside the window. I looked out and the night was black and still, and I was sad by the fact that I couldn't even see the moon tonight. It was gloomy. The rain drops fell directly from the sky in big drops, crashing against the window.

Memories kept flashing through my mind, memories of last year: the first night Ricky and I talked for hours and he spent the night, the next morning when he kissed me, when we ran away to the hotel together, when he made love to me the first real time, when I had the pregnancy scare, when Ricky went over to Adrian's house and was just getting out of the bed with her.

A lot of them were good memories, but there were some bad memories, like when he kissed Adrian at school, claiming she had kissed him instead, and when Ben and Adrian started hooking up because Ben wanted to win me over and Adrian wanted Ricky back.

And then I remembered when Ricky and I went to the cabin where there was a beach in the back. We only got to stay for two days because my mom found out, but it was so wonderful. That was definitely a good memory, I thought to myself. Wasn't that enough?

I couldn't answer that question. I couldn't know for sure if it would be enough to be with him forever. I was just a teenager, and with Ben I had realized that teenagers can change their minds. I was troubled, I admitted to myself. And for a minute, I realized for the first time the person I was becoming.

I was becoming someone completely different. My mom had constantly reminded me of my mistakes when I still lived with her, and she always looked at me as if I were a different person, and I finally could understand why.

However, I was sure I wouldn't change my mind that I did love Ricky, but I was beginning to question just how much I loved him. A part of me wanted to be with him and for him to hold me forever, but then another part of me was reluctant on that, and I just suddenly realized this, like the doubt of loving Ricky as much as I thought I did had never crossed my mind until now. One thing I knew is that I didn't want to be married at seventeen. I just didn't.

I jolted back into reality when I heard someone clearing their throat in front of me. I panicked, but then I saw it was just Ben. _Just Ben. _Days ago I wouldn't say that. Days ago it would be a big deal to me if it were Ben. I would be angry. But today I wasn't.

I wondered how long he had been there, but he smiled and I figured he'd been there only a few seconds. "Hi, Amy," he said hesitantly.

I held up my hand and spoke sadly, softly. "Hi, Ben." Could he notice the somberness in my voice?

He looked in my eyes and his smile suddenly disappeared, as if he saw the sadness in my eyes and felt guilty because he thought he caused it. "What are you doing here so late?" he asked, looking down at the small gray table.

I shrugged my shoulders, propping my elbow on the table and leaning against my hand. "Just needed to think," I murmured.

"Oh...where's..." He trailed off, as if deciding to say something else instead. "Is everything okay?"

"I guess."

"You guess?"

I nodded, but he wanted an explanation. "It just hasn't been a good night," I sighed, not wanting to tell him why. I was _not_ going to tell him why. I would make sure that he didn't find out. _Receiving a proposal_, I thought, _should be a good thing._

But it wasn't.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Ben asked gently.

I shook my head. "No, not really."

He nodded, accepting that answer. I cleared my throat and changed the subject. "Why are you here?"

I noticed grief in his eyes, and I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but it wasn't any of my business. We'd split apart. "I'm not really sure," he finally replied. "Betty volunteered to take us out to eat earlier for lunch, and I said I didn't want to go. And I don't know. Tonight I just had a feeling and came here..."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure. This will sound ridiculous--" he laughed"--but I've only been to a McDonald's once in my life, a long time ago. So I have no idea why I came here. I guess it was just something different than what I normally do."

I smiled. "You've only been here once your whole life?"

"Twice now." He grinned, but then his smile faded and the same pain from earlier returned to his eyes, and his voice was dark. "When my mom was still here...we'd always go out to really nice restaurants often. Her, my dad, and me. So we never came to fast food restaurants." His voice lightened up a little bit. "After... my dad and I just never went out anywhere together. You know?"

"Yeah." I had to struggle to keep a frown off of my face. "That's what happens when you have a big change in your family... Sometimes it can make you more distant with each other. After I had John, I kept my distance with everyone, as I'm sure you remember. I was so upset. With myself. But of course, your situation was different... But it is true that things between you and your family are different when there is a big change..." Like getting married, I thought but couldn't say. If I had said yes to Ricky tonight, my parents would probably lose all respect in me if they even had any left.

Ben said nothing, but he nodded in agreement. He changed the subject. "Amy," he said seriously, "is everything okay? I don't know whether or not I should stay with you if something bad's happened or leave if it's something that you just need to be left alone to think about."

"I..." I paused. "You can stay, I guess. I mean, I can't like make you leave. It's a public place. I wouldn't mind some company, actually..." I nodded to myself. It was different company than I was used to. Maybe a change would be good. A change that wasn't so permanent like marriage. A re-acquaintance with an old friend maybe was enough to straighten out my life...

"Well, good. Because honestly, Amy, I've really missed you. I feel like we ended things so badly..." He paused for a second but then continued. "I should never have broken up with you before I went to Italy. I really just meant temporarily though, you know? For the summer. Just because I didn't want to hold you back that summer."

I felt like I had every reason to yell at him or to be angry at him for bringing it up, but I couldn't even make myself be angry with him. I nodded and said softly, "I know, Ben. But our lives just went in a different direction."

He swallowed and sat with his arms folded on top of the table. He took a deep breath and then said, "I owe you an apology. When Adrian and I called you that night. It was wrong, and I don't know why I did it."

"Wait. What are we talking about?"

He sighed. "I shouldn't have used Adrian like that. I knew that I couldn't get you back... I don't know. I just hoped maybe you would come back to me. I loved you, Amy." He paused. "I still do."

I shook my head and my voice came out as a whisper. "Ben..."

He looked down again. "You and Ricky are still together."

He hadn't said it as a question, but I felt like I had to answer him. "Yeah, we are." I stopped. "Well, I think..."

"You think? What happened? That's why you came here...isn't it? Ricky's apartment is just a block away... Did something happen?"

"Not really, but--"

"Then what's wrong?"

I hesitated, trying to think of something else to tell him besides that Ricky proposed to me. "He... he asked me to do something, and I got scared and ran away..." _Scared and ran away. _

_Why was I running away?_

"Did he hurt you?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering how Ben could surmise that. "No, he didn't," I said slowly, the images of earlier flashing through my head. _Oh, Ricky..._ What was he doing right now? I struggled to keep the tears away, and a small tear ran down my right cheek as I continued, my voice broken. "_I_ hurt _him_."

He narrowed his eyes and said, "What'd he ask you to do?" as if that was the only thing he was interested in that I said.

I stared at the table. "He...he asked me to..." I trailed off, not able to tell him.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "If this is personal--"

"It isn't. Not really," I said. "I just don't really want to talk about it."

Ben said nothing, but I met his eyes again and he looked away. There was something he wanted to ask me. "What is it, Ben?"

"It's nothing..."

"Ask me," I insisted.

He continued to stare at the table for another fifteen seconds until he sighed and finally looked back up at me. "Amy, there's something that I've been wanting to ask you for a long time now..."

"Okay."

"It's none of my business, but it's been bothering me--"

"Ask me!"

He inhaled sharply and then said quickly as if he hadn't meant to say it at all, "Did you and Ricky have sex?" His eyes widened as he realized what he said.

I narrowed my eyes. "_That's_ what you've been wanting to know for a _long time now_?"

"It- it's just been bothering me, not knowing, I mean. I know you go to see him a lot at his apartment, because I sometimes see you walking up there after school when I go to work at the butcher shop and--"

"I _live_ with him," I cut Ben off, and I realized instantly that that was probably not the right thing to say to him, not now anyway.

"You _live with him_?" Ben started to overreact, but then he took a breath and relaxed. "I see..."

I nodded and neither one of us looked at each other. There was a long pause before we said anything, and finally, I was getting tired of the unanswered question hanging in the air. "And to answer your question, Ben," I said, "we did."

He swallowed nervously again and slowly looked up, his eyes starting with my chest and moving up from there. I caught him staring at my shirt and I just rolled my eyes. He immediately looked into my eyes. "I- I mean... after band camp?"

"Yes."

He looked away again, flushed. "Was... was it the night Adrian and I called and he was there..." He trailed off, not knowing if he'd asked too much.

"Yeah," I responded casually. What was the point in not telling him the truth? "Come on, Ben. I know Adrian must have told you about the pregnancy scare. She was over my house that day for_ some _reason."

His eyes widened and he looked at me. "_Pregnancy scare?_"

I closed my mouth. I thought he knew. "I'm sorry... I didn't think I was telling you something you didn't know."

"Well, it's none of my business anyway." He met my eyes and right then I had flashbacks of when Ben and I were together, and for a second I almost felt something. "But...can I ask you something else?"

I sighed. "Go ahead."

"If we had stayed together...and I hadn't broken up with you before I went to Italy...would you have...had sex with me?"

I smiled. "Maybe."

He raised his eyebrows, obviously pleased with my answer. He cleared his throat. "And would you ever consider--"

Ben stopped mid-sentence when the McDonald's door slammed. Everyone was quiet, even the workers here were quiet and stopped what they were doing. We all watched in quiet fear as a man came into view. My breath caught in my throat, and when I realized he had a gun in his hand, my entire body went numb and I couldn't think properly.

He looked familiar, and his presence sent a chill down my spine, but I couldn't concentrate with my heart pounding in my head. All I knew was that people were afraid. My heart was beating so fast that my vision was becoming impaired, and I was worried I might pass out. My head felt hot.

In the corner of my eye I could barely see that the man was drunk as he limply staggered forward. Suddenly, everything happened really fast. The man held up the gun, and everyone started screaming but I couldn't figure out what was going on. I looked down at the table, not able to raise my head because I knew I'd faint.

Next thing I knew was that Ben was grabbing my hand as if he was going to pull us out the window to safety.

And then I heard a gunshot, and I heard the glass of the window to the right of me, only inches away, shatter into thousands of pieces. People were running around and Ben was talking to me, but I couldn't focus on what he was saying. The screams of the people in our surroundings were too loud.

And then all at once, my life...my everything...came tumbling down, and I knew right then that it was over. I didn't even know where he came from, but I heard another gunshot and I saw in the corner of my eye Ricky collapse to the floor.

_No!_

Something went off inside me. I jerked Ben off of me and yelled, hopping out of the chair and running across the room. The little girl who I'd seen earlier sitting with her mom was crying, and the workers were yelling at the guy to put the gun down, but he was too drunk.

I saw Ricky sitting up on the floor, his shirt covered in blood near his chest and I immediately cried. _Why? Why was I running away?_

_Why had I run away from love?_

So I ran forward now, convinced I would change my decision right here and now if only I hadn't been too late.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion now: I was still fifteen feet away from him, and he was staring with fury at the man who had shot him. I looked only at Ricky and forced my legs to move faster but it was like I wasn't getting there quick enough.

I was only eight feet away from Ricky now, and I heard another gunshot sound in the room. When I looked around to see who had been shot, seconds later I fell to the floor, lying in my own blood.


	18. Chapter 18

What does it mean to really love someone?

I hadn't known the answer to that question until that night when I realized I could lose my love forever.

I woke up in a small, empty hospital room, where I heard the quiet clicking of my monitor, and I looked down to realize that they had one of those damned awful IV's in my arm. I rolled my shoulders, feeling pain, and I looked to my bare, left shoulder that was exposed when they pulled the side of the sleeve down my arm, and I saw a bandage wrapped tightly around it. I sighed and leaned back. I was wearing a hospital gown that was much too big, and I felt uncomfortable.

I wanted the gown off, and I wanted this IV out of my arm promptly.

I looked up when I heard the door quietly open, and my mom came through and shut the door softly. "Hey, Amy. How are you?" She looked worried.

"I'm really fine, Mom," I said. "I want this IV out of my arm. When can I leave?"

"You can leave today," she said. "The doctor wanted to keep you overnight because you passed out from losing too much blood. You were shot in your shoulder, but they've bandaged you up and said everything was fine. Do you feel okay?"

I nodded. "Yes. Maybe a little weak, but I'm ready to go home." I paused and almost shot up in the bed, but the pain rushing to my shoulder caused me to slump back down against the mattress. "How's Ricky?"

She hesitated before speaking and didn't look at me. By the way she was acting I could tell it wasn't good news. "The doctors said he's stable," she said slowly, and I knew she was saying the good news first before getting to the bad. She looked up at me and said reluctantly with a frown, "He was shot twice in his chest."

I just stared blankly at her when she said that. _Twice?_ "No, Mom. He was shot once. I was there."

I went over the memories in my head. Could Ricky have possibly been shot once before he came into the restaurant? The image of the man holding the gun flashed through my mind and frightened me. Who was he? Something about him was so familiar...

And then I knew.

_Bob_.

Oh, God.

Ricky had been shot once in his chest before coming into the restaurant, I knew. And he somehow forced himself to walk inside...where he was shot again. Why did he go in there?

"They found two gun-shot wounds in his chest..." my mom said.

I nodded, wanting to get to the more important things immediately. "How bad is he, Mom? Honestly?"

"Well, he was conscious this morning. The doctor said he asked about you...He's very weak and low on blood... I really don't know anything else."

"Can I go see him now?"

"Well, I think we need to wait for a doctor to come in here..."

"I don't want to wait," I said. "I want to see him!" I pressed the red button on the side of my bed for a nurse to come so they could take out the IV. I leaned back on the bed and waited impatiently for the nurse to get in here. "What room is he in?" I asked.

"Just across the hall from you," she answered.

"I want to see him," I said. "Even if he isn't awake. I have to see him."

She nodded. "If they'll let you. And Amy, you should talk to Ben soon. He's here. If it weren't for Ben then you could have gotten hurt more than you were..." She trailed off. "He was the one who called the police."

"Ben called the police?" I asked, stunned.

She nodded, and I continued, not wanting to remember the awful scene in the restaurant. "I just have to see him.." I said, tears rising in my eyes.

"Aw, Amy. You will. Why are you crying?"

"Because..." I hesitated telling her, but I had to get it out. I hadn't planned on telling her this, but there wasn't really a reason not to now. "Because he asked me to marry him and then I ran off to stupid McDonald's! And because of that he followed me about an hour later and- and now he's hurt!"

She raised an eyebrow. "He asked you to marry him?"

"Yes. And I wish I would've said yes. I don't want to get married now...But I would accept it in a heartbeat if I could just go back and everything would be fine."

Normally I knew she would've said something about this, but instead she said, "It'll be fine, Amy."

"Mom, I am sorry," I continued. "I realized for the first time yesterday what you've been trying to say to me all along. I've been selfish. And I don't want to do that anymore. God.. I just love him so much."

"I know you do. And he loves you."

"I hurt him..."

"He'll forgive you, I know he will. He was so worried about you."

"_Worried about me_," I scoffed. "He should be worried about himself."

"It's okay. Everything's okay. You don't have to apologize. I love you, Amy. And I'm here for you, always."

"I love you, too, Mom," I whispered.

Finally, the door swung open and the nurse came in. She smiled warmly at me and I asked her to please remove my IV because I didn't need it anymore. I told her I felt fine, and she removed my IV. The nurse gave me permission to see Ricky, and she told me that he was awake. Inside I was excited but nervous at the same time. How weak was he?

"I'll leave you alone if you want to get dressed. Someone brought you some new clothes, on the chair," the nurse said, and I nodded and my mom followed her out the door. I waited a few seconds for them to pass by the hall, and then I quickly took my clothes that were sitting on the chair and I wondered briefly: Who brought me these clothes?

I quickly took my clothes and headed for the door, wanting to see him as soon as I possibly could. I didn't see my mom or the nurse, so I assumed they went into the waiting room or the front room. I went slowly across the hallway, my hospital gown reaching an inch below my knees, and I carefully and quietly pushed on the door of his room.

He was there, lying on the bed and attached to an IV. He had the covers pulled halfway up, and his chest was tightly wrapped and bandaged up. He had no shirt on, and I wondered briefly if he was cold. He wasn't awake, although the nurse said he was, and I just wanted to cry.

_If only I hadn't run away._

_Running away from this love will kill me._

I closed the door and slowly walked over to the bed, tightening my jaw as I had a difficult time avoiding the tears. As I reached him, I knew I couldn't do this. The tears trickled down my face swiftly, and I slowly sat on the bed, the edge at first, but then I swung my legs over and lay down beside him.

I turned to where I was facing him, and I cried harder. I had caused this. I had caused his pain. Now all I wanted to know was _why?_

I gently, barely touching him, ran my hand up his chest and felt the blood through it. I put my hand on his neck and carefully pulled myself closer to him. I kissed his neck and cried onto him, and then I stopped when I felt a hand on my back.

I pulled away and looked up. Oh, god. He was awake. "Hey," he whispered.

I sniffled. "You're awake."

He struggled keeping his eyes open. "_Mmm. _How are you?"

"I'm okay," I lied. "You?" My voice cracked.

"I'm fine," he replied, weakly smiling at me. I didn't understand how he could look at me like I wasn't the most awful person on the planet. How could he be so...

so _selfless_? I was the complete opposite. He looked at me, and he wasn't mad at me like he should have been. My mom had said he would forgive me, but as he stared at me, I knew he'd already forgiven me.

I sniffled again and pulled away, wiping the tears from my eyes. "I- I'm going to get dressed," I said. He said nothing and I got off of the bed and changed into my jeans and shirt, Ricky paying no attention to me, and I pulled myself back onto the bed, lowering myself next to him.

"_Amy.."_ he whispered, "_don't cry._"

That only made me cry harder. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't run away--"

"_No," _he whispered. "_You didn't do anything."_

The tears poured from my eyes, and my face probably looked red. "_Come here." _It took him with everything he had just to whisper.

I very gently tried to lower myself on top of him, but before lying down I ran my hand over his chest. "Is this okay?"

"_It's fine,"_ he mumbled.

I very carefully and slowly pulled myself down, and he grunted when I landed on his chest. I pulled back instantly. "Did I hurt you?"

"_It's okay."_

I tried again, this time moving more to the side, still on top of his chest, but with my head right below his shoulder and my hands on the bed, holding weight off of him. His cold hand touched my arm. "It's okay," he said, and I slowly moved my hand over.

"Are you sure I'm not hurting you?" I asked.

"_Everything hurts, Amy,_" he whispered

I cried. "I don't understand," I said, my voice shaking, "why you went into that restaurant if you had just been shot once. Why would you follow your father in there, knowing he had a gun?"

It took him a while before he could make himself answer, then he whispered weakly, "I had to make sure you were okay."

I cried harder then, and he rubbed my back but couldn't say anything. "I'm so sorry," I cried, not letting him say anything to that. "I should have accepted your proposal. I shouldn't have left. I love you so much. I'm so, so sorry..."

He brushed his hand over my hair and his eyes started closing again. "I don't know why I was afraid," I said. "Because really," my voice cracked, "I'm only afraid of losing you."

The door opened, and I barely moved my head to see my mom. I lay it back down against below Ricky's shoulder and I didn't even bother moving away from on top of him. I didn't care that my mom was in the room.

"Amy," she said calmly. "The doctor says you can leave now..."

"No," I said quietly. "I'm not leaving him. You can go. I'm staying here."

She nodded, as if knowing I had made up my mind and wouldn't change it. "I'm just going to go home to make sure John and Robbie are okay--"

"Who's with them?"

"Ashley, Griffin, and Adrian. Ashley's going to come up here later--"

"And leave John and Robbie alone with them?"

"Griffin's good with children," she promised. "I'm going to come back. We'll stay here with you."

"You don't have to."

"We will," she insisted, and she turned to walk out.

"Thanks, Mom," I whispered.

"Of course," she said and left.

Ricky looked like he was close to falling asleep and I knew he hadn't paid attention to our conversation. I don't even know if he heard it or if he was listening. He still had his eyes half open so I spoke anyway. "I wish I could do something for you..."

"_You're doing it,"_ he whispered.

I sighed and kissed his shoulder, my tears falling on him. I reached up carefully and kissed him, placing gentle kisses all over his neck, and he grunted in response. "If I'm not too late," I cried, "I will marry you. I'd marry you today. In a heartbeat."

He smiled weakly and I kissed his neck again, seeing as it calmed him. I ran my lips down his neck and the top of his chest and back up again, then I sighed and lay still. I lay there for a while, neither of us saying anything, and I wondered to myself if Ricky wanted me to leave him alone. He said nothing, and he kept his hand on my back, but I still couldn't help but wonder. I was such a terrible person...

The door opened again, and the nurse walked in and stood in the doorway. "Amy, your family's back," she told me. "You can come back tomorrow--"

"Why can't I stay here?"

"If you want to, you can, but we advise that you don't stay in the room.. We don't like anyone who isn't family in the room with the patient--"

"He's the father of my baby," I told her.

"Is he your husband?" she inquired.

"He will be," I told her, but I didn't want to argue with an adult. Part of becoming a less selfish person was to listen to people older than me who know what they're talking about. She was a nurse; if she didn't think he'd be okay then she would probably let me stay in here with him.

But still, I had to ask her. "He'll be okay, won't he?"

She nodded. "He'll be fine. We're just going to give him some more medicine. You can come back early in the morning, but now he's really tired."

"Okay," I said, and I walked out of the room without even looking back. He was going to be okay; that was all I needed to know. Before walking down the hall, I turned to the nurse and asked, "Who brought me these clothes?"

"Ben," she told me. "He said he was a friend of yours?"

I nodded and walked slowly down the hall until I reached the door, and then I went into the waiting room and sat down beside Ben. I looked at him, trying to read his expression, and it was very familiar. He looked the same way when I was in the hospital having John...

Was he worried about Ricky?

"Hi, Ben," I said quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone. We were the only ones in the room, and the hospital was completely silent. The receptionist wasn't even at the front desk anymore, and I looked around for my parents and Ashley but didn't see them.

"Hi, Amy," he said gently. "Your parents and Ashley are at the car, getting something. They said they'd be right back."

I nodded and then said, "Thank you, Ben. So much."

He looked over at me and crinkled his eyebrows. "For bringing your clothes?"

"Yes. And for being here. I'm glad you're here," I said honestly.

He nodded. "I'm glad you're okay, Amy. And I'm glad Ricky's okay."

"Me, too." I reached my arms over to him and I could tell he was surprised when I hugged him. "Thank you for calling the police... and for getting me through when I was pregnant with John. Thank you, Ben, for being the greatest friend to me, ever."

"Of course. I love you, Amy."

"And I love you," I said. "I have always loved you. You're my best friend, and don't you forget that."

His eyes lit up, and I saw a flash of hope through them. "That's enough for me, Amy. That's about enough for forever. And I'm sorry for trying to win you over by using Adrian--"

"No, Ben. It doesn't matter. None of it matters anymore. You are an amazing guy. I'm so happy to have you as my friend. And I'm sorry for not appreciating you when we were dating. You didn't deserve the way I treated you."

"But I did, Amy. I didn't even deserve you. I still don't."

"Don't treat yourself so terribly. I just told you: you're amazing. And anyone who doesn't believe that is ignorant or jealous."

He smiled. "You don't have to be so nice to me," and then he paused. "But I'm glad you are." I sighed, exhausted, and rest my head against Ben's shoulder. I fell asleep like that, dreaming about Ricky and what would happen in the morning when I could finally go see him again.


	19. Chapter 19

I'm so sorry for taking forever to update! This is the last chapter before the epilogue, and I promise to update ASAP! Don't forget to review.

* * *

In the morning when I awoke, I was still asleep in the chair. I looked around and didn't see Ben. I stood up, and then when I felt a little dizzy I sat back down quickly. Once again I tried to stand up again, but I didn't figure anything was wrong with me.

I'd just woken up, so the dizziness was from being groggy. I walked around the waiting room, looking for either my parents and Ashley or Ben. But I didn't see them anywhere. I stopped right beside the front desk, looking out the window that led outside.

The sun shone through the window, but it couldn't be any later than six in the morning. When I turned back around, I saw someone walking up from behind the front desk. The woman raised her eyebrows and then smiled at me. "Good morning, Amy."

"It will be," I whispered a little bitterly, but I knew she couldn't hear me and I was glad. I cleared my throat. "Can I go see Ricky?"

She nodded. "You can go see him. I don't know if he's awake, though, Amy."

"Is...is he doing any better?"

"He's about the same," she replied. "Stable. Though I haven't seen him awake this morning, so I wouldn't be too sure. He may be doing better this morning. You may go see him now if you'd like."

Although she hadn't said he was any better, stable was better than not stable so I was proud. "Thank you," I said, walking behind the door and down the dark hallway. They had all the lights off, which they turned off every night.

I flipped on the lightswitch in the hall, feeling oddly like this was becoming my second home. I didn't want that at all, but it felt like I'd been in a hospital a lot in the past couple of years. When giving birth to John and two days now. It wasn't much, but it felt like it.

Reaching Ricky's room, I slowly turned the doorknob and pushed on the door, it lightly squeaking. I peered inside and then shut the door. I walked over to the bed and then carefully sat down on the far edge.

He was conscious.

"Hey," I said quietly.

"_Hey_, Amy," he mumbled. His voice wasn't as weak as it was, but still he had to struggle.

"I love you," I told him immediately, wanting him to know it.

"I love you too," he told me, running his hand up my arm. He looked like he was trying to sit up and I stopped him. "Don't hurt yourself."

He looked angry, at me or himself I didn't know. "I don't care about hurting myself," he said, and then he grunted. I tried to help him, and he sat half-way up against the pillow.

"So, are you hungry?" I asked him.

"No," he said. "Thank you..."

I sighed, standing up from the bed. "Where are you going?" he asked. I ignored him and held up my pointer finger to silence him. Then I brought back water. "I don't care if you say you're not thirsty...drink this. Please."

He looked at me hesitantly and then took the glass of water. I leaned my head against his shoulder and he mumbled something. "Is this okay?"

"Stop treating me like I'm so fragile."

I moved my head away. "But I feel like you are."

He sighed in defeat. "Would you please just let me help you?" I grumbled, slightly infuriated at him.

The day dragged by slowly, and the next. It was another night of sleeping in the hospital. But Ricky did get better the next day, and the doctors let him go in the evening.

My mom dropped me off at his apartment—my dad and Ashley already went home—and she said I could stay there for the day, to help him. She obviously trusted us because he was so hurt and didn't think we'd take the chance.

We got out of the car, and my mom drove off after making sure we were alright. As we reached his apartment, I took his keys and opened the door for him. "Are you okay?"

"Please, Amy. I'm fine," he said angrily. I helped him inside, but he fidgeted away and I quickly recoiled, offended. "God, would you just let me help you, Ricky!" I shouted at him, and he froze.

"I don't need any help, Amy. Really." I followed behind him, slightly irritated, as he headed down the hall. We passed the bathroom and he stopped at the corner, peering in as he caught a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror. I watched as his face changed from annoyed to spite and regard in a split second.

I watched as his jaw clenched, and I knew right then that a million things were flashing through his mind. That he was probably having flashbacks, of his past, of his father with the gun in the restaurant. I wanted so badly to be a comfort to him, but I was afraid he wouldn't want me to console him.

But when he turned from the doorway and faced me on the verge of tears, I instinctively stepped up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "Hey, it's okay, Ricky. Everything...everything will be fine." I wasn't sure that I believed it myself.

He shook his head, his hands touching my waist and pushing me against the wall. He stared at me angrily, as if for an attempt at keeping the tears away. I ran a hand through his hair. "No one..understands," he choked out, moving his hands away so that he wasn't touching me, only standing over me as I was pushed against the wall. "No one understands what's going on with me right now... No one can, and I'm not sure that I want them to."

"Ricky, I understand!"

And he broke down crying right there. He tried to turn around, as if he would actually walk out of his own apartment, but I grabbed him. "Ricky, turn around! Talk to me. Why won't you let me help you?"

"I don't want your damn help, Amy!" he shouted venomously at me as he flipped around, the veins dilating on his forehead and tears filling his stubborn, red eyes. I could feel the anger radiating from him, and my body started trembling. "Just leave me alone!"

I could feel the tears rising in my eyes. Crying had always been my weakness. I couldn't control it.

I didn't have a car to drive home, so I ran right into Ricky's bedroom and locked the door, sitting down on the carpet and leaning with my back against the door. And then I just bawled. I tilted my head back and let it hit the door.

Why was he acting like this? All I wanted to do was help him. Why was that too much to ask?

I sat here on the floor crying and staring at the darkness that came in from the window across from me for at least an hour, probably even longer. I didn't know what to do. I thought about taking my cellphone out of my pocket and calling my mom to come get me, but I wouldn't know what to say to Ricky.

Would he be angry at me if I called her to come get me? This was a part of him I'd never known before, yet knew had to exist. I just didn't want to have to see it.

I thought that I would end up having to sit here all night, and I was beginning to plan what I would do in the morning: call someone, or just walk home? It was after midnight now, and I wasn't going to take any chances, so I would wait until daylight and walk home. It would take an hour walking at a normal pace, but I didn't care.

I decided that I would take a taxi, but that plan fell through because I didn't have any money.

When I was just working up the courage to get up and go to sleep in Ricky's bed, I could hear and feel a slump on the other side of the door. I moved away, crossing my legs and facing towards the door. There was a long moment of silence before I heard Ricky speak in a low, muffled voice: "You gonna stay in there all night?"

The words shocked me at first. I didn't want to answer him. After the hatred I had seen from him, I was afraid. I stayed quiet for a minute but then mumbled in a quiet, bitter voice, "Maybe."

A pause. "It's my room."

I said nothing.

I heard a slight thump, and I could imagine Ricky facing towards the door with his hand pressed to the wood. "Will you open the door?"

I held my breath and hesitated. "No."

Another soft thump on the door. "Please?"

I thought about what to say. "I don't want to see...anyone."

Another pause, his nails scratching against the wood now. "Close your eyes."

I opened my mouth to speak, but my brain didn't react as quickly. I couldn't find the words to say.

"Amy. Just close your eyes," he repeated.

I was slightly lightening up now. "I might accidentally open them."

"Not if you're blindfolded."

Again, I said nothing. A part of me wanted to let him in, but I didn't want to face him. However, I stood up and pulled my blue blouse over my head-I had a tank top on-and rolled it to make it thinner, putting it over my eyes and tying it behind my head. I probably looked like a lunatic. I felt around for the doorknob and unlocked it, backing up carefully and falling onto the bed, sitting on the edge with my feet touching the floor.

I heard the doorknob turn. I placed my hands in my lap and gripped them together nervously.

I could hear the door squeaking as it opened, and Ricky's footsteps as he walked towards me. The bed slightly shook and I heard him plop down a few inches beside me. Nearly of us said anything, and we both just sat quietly for a moment.

Until I felt his cold hand on my arm, moving to untie the shirt from my eyes and pull it off, letting it fall to the bed. I opened my eyes and looked at him. His expression was serious and serene, almost gloomy. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," I forced out.

"Thank you for opening the door."

I just nodded.

"I'm sorry," he said slowly. "I know I scared you... I didn't want to do that."

I was beginning to gain some of my courage back. "Why wouldn't you let me help you?"

There was a pause before he spoke. "I don't know. I didn't want you to see me like that. I don't like being dependent on someone..." I noticed he winced before continuing, "...I didn't want to feel like I couldn't take care of myself."

For some reason, that last part really got to me. The tears built up in my eyes again. "I know, Ricky," I cried, "but you need to let me help you. That's part of being in a relationship with someone. Just...let me. Get past whatever you're afraid of and trust me."

"It isn't that I don't trust you. It's more that I don't trust myself."

"How does it have anything to do with trusting yourself?"

"I don't want to...do anything to upset you."

"The only reason you're upsetting me is because you won't let me help you. Please, promise me that you will."

He nodded, smiling softly but sadly. "Okay." He grabbed my hand and pulled me up, and I stared at him in confusion. "Come on. Call your parents, tell them we'll be back in a day or two. I want to take you somewhere."


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Sorry I haven't posted the next chapter yet. I know I said I would probably be making a sequel, and I know I have a lot of people asking for me to finish this and I appreciate all of your reviews and I **will** finish it eventually. For right now I just want to take a break from this story and I was thinking maybe writing like an alternative story to this- like it'll be Ricky/Adrian instead (some Ramy will still be in it, though). It'll continue from a certain chapter (won't tell you which one) and I'll change some things about it and you'll see different perspectives. I know a lot of you probably won't like this idea- so please only review to this if you like both pairings, unless you can be nice about it.


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